January 27, 2026: Tonight, the moon passes the Pleiades star cluster. Europe sees an occultation of bright stars, while North America views the lunar orb east of the cluster.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 7:08 a.m. CST; Sunset, 5:00 p.m. CST. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times.
In Chicago, beginning tomorrow, sunset occurs after 5 p.m. until after Daylight Saving Time ends in November. Daylight today spans 9 hours, 52 minutes.
Moon and Pleiades
Tonight, the bright gibbous moon dances with the Pleiades star cluster. Sky watchers across Europe see the lunar orb graze the star cluster while occulting a few of the brighter stars. In North America, the moon is east of the stellar bundle when the sky is dark enough to see the stars.
An occultation occurs when the lunar orb covers a distant star or a planet as it moves across the line of sight of the sky watcher. The moon constantly occults dimmer stars, but when it eclipses a bright star, prominent star cluster, or planet, the event is easily seen.
The Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters, are a bright bundle of stars — perhaps containing thousands of stars — riding on Taurus’ back, which is high in the southeastern sky after nightfall. Resembling a miniature dipper, the blue-white stars are likely first spotted with peripheral vision while looking at another part of the sky.
Tonight, the bright moon largely overwhelms the cluster and its dance with the stars is best viewed through a binocular or a spotting scope. Because of the moon’s brightness, looking through an optical system may create an after image in your vision — a “spot” like that from a camera’s flash.
From Munich
In Europe, the moon approaches the cluster before midnight. For example, from Munich, the moon’s southern limb (edge) is about 0.3° from Taygeta at 10:30 p.m. About five minutes later, the moon’s dark limb begins to cover the star. In 30 minutes, Taygeta reappears as the moon occults dimmer stars outside the main stellar concentration.
Alexandria’s View
Farther south and a time zone to the east in Alexandria, the moon passes farther to the star cluster’s west, about 0.5° from Taygeta. The moon occults some dimmer outlier stars.
From Oslo
Meanwhile, farther north and west in Oslo, the moon begins to occult Taygeta at 10:05 p.m. and Maia at 10:25 p.m. Taygeta reappears at 11:05 p.m., followed by Maia about five minutes later. The outliers are occulted here as well.
The occultation circumstances from southern Greenland are similar to Oslo, although the moon passes closer to Electra.
View from North America
When the Pleiades are visible from the mainlands of North America, the moon is east of the star cluster. The farther west you are, the larger the gap between the lunar orb and the stellar bundle. In Chicago, the moon is 1.8° east of Alcyone, the brightest Pleid.
Tonight, European observers see the moon graze and occult several Pleiades stars, with closest approach to Taygeta ranging from 0.3° to 0.5°. North American observers see the lunar orb east of the cluster, with separation increasing westward — in Chicago, 1.8° east of Alcyone.
Tomorrow, the lunar orb has a wider gap with the cluster as it appears eastward against the sidereal background.
The next Full (Snow) moon occurs on February 1.
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