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This is a rare opportunity to witness an asteroid pass in front of a bright star, blocking out its light for up to ~14 seconds. Occultations occur all the time, but rarely do they happen to stars that are this bright and easy to see by naked eye. In that sense, it is likely a once in a lifetime event for those living near the path of occultation. Regulus is the brightest star in the constellation Leo and the 22nd brightest star in the night sky overall. The occultation will occur at about 2 am tomorrow morning. The path takes...

The transit method — observing a distant planet as it moves in front of its star as seen from Earth — is a prime tool for exoplanet detection. But transits are hardly limited to planets around their primaries. The Taiwanese-American Occultation Survey (TAOS) is demonstration of that, an attempt to find tiny Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) in the range between 0.5 and 28 kilometers. As you would imagine, at a distance like this such objects cannot be seen directly, but an occultation — the dimming of a star when one of the KBOs passes in front of it —...

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Swarms of astronomers are expected to pack major observatories in Arizona this weekend hoping to see a rare "occultation" as Pluto crosses in front of a star and blots out its light. Sunday morning's event is exciting for scientists because it will give them a better idea of the size and makeup of Pluto's atmosphere. In an occultation -- not an eclipse, mind you -- the nearer object blots out the light and is backlit. If there is no atmosphere, it will blink out almost instantly, said Don McCarthy of the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory. But...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2003 July 16 Mars' Simulated View Simulation Credit: Solar System Simulator, JPL, NASA Explanation: When earthdweller Patrick Vantuyne wondered what his home planet's single large moon would look like if viewed from Mars on July 17, he availed himself of the JPL Solar System Simulator. Of course, when viewed from Earth on that date (tomorrow), the gibbous Moon will pass tantalizingly close to Mars for observers in North,...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 September 11 Pluto & Charon Eclipse a Triple Star Credit: NACO Team, 8.2-meter VLT (Yepun), ESO Explanation: Occasionally, a planet in our Solar System will pass in front of a bright star. Since stars and planets take up so little space on the sky, such events are quite rare. Two months ago, however, Pluto and its large moon Charon passed in front of a comparatively bright triple...