October 27, 2026: The bright Hunter’s Moon occults stars in the Pleiades across northeastern North America. Compare views from Boston, Miami, Chicago, Denver, and Phoenix.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 7:17 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 5:51 p.m. CDT. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times.
Hunter’s Moon Occults Pleiades
Across North America, the bright Hunter’s Moon is near the Pleiades after sunset. Observers in eastern regions see the moon occult (eclipse) some of the stars, while from western locales, the moon is east of the cluster.
As the moon continues its hourly eastward trek, its position relative to the Pleiades changes across the continent.
The Stars
The Pleiades are one of the most famous star clusters because they are easily identified. Out of thousands of individuals in this stellar heap, the six brightest resemble a tiny dipper, while nine have formal names. In order of decreasing brightness, they are:
- Alcyone
- Atlas
- Electra
- Maia
- Merope
- Taygeta
- Pleione
- Celaeno
- Sterope
Seven Sisters Across Writers
In their book The Friendly Stars, Martin and Menzel describe them as Atlas, his wife Pleione, and their seven daughters. More popularly, the cluster is known as the Seven Sisters. Some sky watchers have claimed to see over a dozen stars without optical aid.
These nine stars cover a space larger than the full moon, and with dozens of dimmer stars, the cluster spans nearly three times that size.
The Pleiades have inspired poets and scientists. Job writes, “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loose the belt of Orion?”
The Persian poet Sadi writes, “The ground was as if strewn with colored enamel, and necklaces of Pleiades seemed to hang upon the branches of the trees…”
Sky watcher Walter Scott Houston writes, “On December evenings the most remarkable star cluster in the heavens, the Pleiades rises to prominence. Even on the coldest winter nights, when time spent at the telescope is better measured in minutes than hours, it would be a very un-amateur not to look at the Pleiades.”
The Occultation
Tonight, the moon covers or occults the stars. As the moon revolves eastward, it covers a myriad of dim stars, making somewhat unremarkable events. When it passes in front of a bright planet, star, or notable star cluster, the event is easily observed. The stars in the star cluster that are covered tonight depend on longitude and latitude. In this case, more easterly and northerly locations see the moon covering stars in the cluster.
The star cluster is best seen through a binocular or spotting scope, or at very low telescopic powers. Even at modest telescopic magnifications, the cluster spills out of the eyepiece. Because the moon is in a bright gibbous phase, 95% illuminated, it likely produces an afterimage in vision, like spots after a camera flash.
Boston’s View
For example, two hours after sunset in Boston, the moon covers stars Electra and Celaeno. As the evening progresses, it occults Taygeta and Maia. Then it moves between Sterope and Alcyone, with each star appearing close to the northern limb (edge) and southern limb, respectively. By four hours after sunset, the moon is 0.5° to Atlas’ upper left as it occults the dimmer outlier stars.
Miami’s Near Miss
In comparison, two hours after sunset in Miami, the lunar orb is 0.5° to the left of Alcyone. It occults dimmer stars in the cluster. The more southerly location misses the occultation of the bright stars because sunset there is nearly an hour later than sunset in Boston and the more southerly latitude sees the moon farther northward against the starry background.
Chicago’s View
In Chicago, two hours after sunset, the occultation of Alcyone is ending, with the star reappearing a few minutes later. The moon’s southern limb grazes Pleione as it moves eastward and away from the cluster’s brighter stars.
Too Late in Denver
Farther westward, in Denver, the lunar orb is 0.9° to Alcyone’s lower left two hours after sunset. It is too late to see any of the bright stars occulted.
From Phoenix
From Phoenix, two hours after sunset, the moon is 1.4° east of Alcyone. As in Denver, the moon is too far east to see an occultation of any of the stars.
Even with a bright moon, sky watchers from northeastern North America see the moon occult stars in the Pleiades, while others see the lunar orb near the star cluster.