2020 Best Moon-Planet Conjunctions

2020 BEST MOON-PLANET CONJUNCTIONS

Image Credits: NASA/JPL Solar System Simulator developed by: David Seal

FOVs and Magnifications Vary

L O A D I N G

Click on the labels directly above to view the Best Moon-Planet Conjunctions of 2020. Note that these views are geocentric—i.e. from Earth's center—so the apparent angular distances between the Moon and the planet may be slightly different from those you'll see from your own location on Earth's surface. In fact, (as you'll see below) from your own location, one or more of these events may let you witness the planet passing behind the Moon! Because the Moon moves relatively fast against the background sky—about one of its own diameters each hour—these "close apparent approaches" are visible only at limited locations and for short durations. But if you are in the right place at the right time, they are a real treat, because they can be witnessed without a telescope.

In addition, all of these conjunctions will produce lunar occultations somewhere on Earth! That is, somewhere on Earth the noted planet will be seen passing behind the Moon! Unfortunately, these "disappearing planet" events are visible at even more limited locations than conjunctions. But if you are lucky enough to witness a lunar occulta- tion, you will enjoy an event which few others on Earth have ever seen or will ever see! In fact, the image above of the Moon-Mars occultation of Sep 6 is actually shown just before the Red Planet "hides" behind Earth's lunar companion. The actual time of the center of this occultation is 04:42 UTC, about half an hour "after" the time shown above. You may be able to witness this occultation if you are in central South America or northern Africa! You can find out where and when all of these lunar occultations are visible on the excellent IOTA Moon Occultation pages.

You'll also want to take a look at our 2020 Best Planet Conjunctions page.

Simulator Image Notes: 1) Fields of View are measured horizontally. 2) Eclipse shadows of planetary moons are not displayed. 3) Light-Travel Time is not included in calculated times. 4) Planets are viewed with their local north "upward", i.e. in the 12:00 midnight direction. 5) Simulator expresses the phase (where applicable) as the absolute value of the phase angle.

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