StarDate Susitna 6-20-26, by Kathleen Fleming

Kathleen Fleming has Summer Solstice / Father’s Day combo edition of StarDate Susitna.

The below photo was taken on June 17th by Debra Ceravolo of southern British Columbia, Canada. Bright Venus was obscured/covered by the Moon, called an occultation, about an hour before it popped back out from behind the illuminated crescent side. The Sun had set in Brazil when the occultation occurred, but it was a daytime event for all of North America (the far north was excluded, see map). Fortunately, Venus is so bright it can actually be seen during the day! Debra’s photo was selected for Saturday’s posting on Astronomy Picture of the Day, apod.nasa.gov, a fabulous website for astro-images and explanations, with the option to search the archives. Such an honor!

Map showing where the 6-17-26 occultation of Venus may be visible.  From IOTA, lunar-occultations.com.  Notice that South Central Alaska is just outside the zone.