The Sky Today on Monday, February 2: The Moon occults Regulus

This screenshot from Stellarium shows the view above the U.S. Midwest around 9 P.M.CST, after the Moon has already occulted and moved east of Regulus. (Also visible is the Sickle of Leo at left.) Two hours earlier, at 7 P.M. CST, the Moon will be situated on the other (western) side of Regulus, and pass in front of the star beginning around 7:45 P.M. CST (note this time is approximate and heavily location-dependent). Credit: Stellarium/USGS/Celestia/Clementine

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February 1: The February Full Snow Moon shines

The waning gibbous Moon passes 0.4° due north of Regulus in Leo at 10 P.M. EST this evening. The pairing is visible across the U.S., as the region housing them rises in the east around 6:45 P.M. local time. 

Western Africa and much of the U.S. and Canada will see the Moon either pass fully or extremely close to Regulus in an event called an occultation (or a grazing occultation, in the latter case). The timing and visibility of the event will depend heavily on your location. In the U.S., the occultation will occur from about 8:40 P.M. EST to 10:05 P.M. EST. You can find a map of regions that will see the occultation and more details about the event — including the view from your location — at In-The-Sky.org.

Regulus is Leo’s alpha star, shining at magnitude 1.4. It sits very close to the ecliptic, the path the planets and the Moon follow in our sky, which is why it is frequently occulted. It lies roughly 79 light-years away and is a hot, B-type star. 

Sunrise: 7:07 A.M.
Sunset: 5:21 P.M.
Moonrise: 6:27 P.M.
Moonset: 7:43 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous (98%)
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 10 P.M. local time from the same location.