<p>If the Moon is 9 days past full, then it can't be occulting (or even at its closest approach to) Venus.  Since Venus is an interior planet, it never gets far from the Sun in the sky as seen from Earth; its maximum elongation (maximum angle between Sun and Venus) is 47°.  So to occult Venus, the Moon would also have to be that close to the Sun in the sky. </p>

<p>However, when the Moon is 9 days past full, it is still more than 70° from the Sun in the sky (verified with calculation of lunar position and phase from <a href="https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons.cgi" rel="nofollow noreferrer">JPL Horizons</a>; the "SOT" angle given there is "Sun-Observer-Target" and thus the Sun-Moon angle as seen from Earth). The Moon doesn't get within 47° of the Sun until about 11 days past full.  </p>

<p>On a more literary note, the passage "nine changes of the watery star" (from <em>The Winter's Tale</em>) seems to be typically interpreted in commentaries to mean nine <em>months</em> have passed, i.e. each "change" is a full cycle of lunar phases. </p>

<p>EDIT:  If you want to search for historical occultations in general, it looks like the Windows software <a href="http://www.lunar-occultations.com/iota/occult4.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Occult 4</a> should be able to do it.  The <a href="http://www.lunar-occultations.com/iota/occulttips.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">PDF guide</a> has some tips for setting it up. </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-06T13:37:44.580Z
2020-06-07T12:59:45.997Z
2020-06-07T12:59:45.997Z
Eric Jensen
<p>I am looking for dates in history, from 400 years ago or older, when there was an occultation of Venus by the Moon <em>during Winter</em> as seen from Sicily.  Venus was rising, and according to the text that I am trying to fact check, it is not clear what phase the moon is in. The text from Shakespeare reads there were "nine changes to the watery star"  This is interpreted to mean the moon, as it effects the tides.  So the moon should be 9 days away from a full moon.</p>

<p>Or if an occultation is too rare would there be an appulse that matches the criteria?  </p>

<p>1) Venus is rising.
2) The moon is waning nine days.
3) As seen from Sicily.  </p>

<p>I am led to understand that this is a rare event, happening once every 200 years or more, and I would be curious to know about any other unusual astronomical events that occurred within +/- 23 or 24 years of this rare event. </p>

<p>Where could I find this information?  Is there a star chart I could check?  </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-03T10:47:38.263Z
Did you mean occultation?
Mike G
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-03T15:31:30.227Z
It could be an occultation.  How often does that occur?
Benjamin Godfrey
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-03T16:31:28.203Z
Lunar occultations of planets are fairly rare and observable from a limited area.
Mike G
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-04T08:06:24.713Z
There is a module in stellarium that lets you compute astronomical events in a given interval of time.
usernumber
<the-moon><venus>
Historical lunar occultation of Venus seen from Sicily in the winter?
Benjamin Godfrey
# Historical lunar occultation of Venus seen from Sicily in the winter?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-06-03)

I am looking for dates in history, from 400 years ago or older, when there was an occultation of Venus by the Moon *during Winter* as seen from Sicily. Venus was rising, and according to the text that I am trying to fact check, it is not clear what phase the moon is in. The text from Shakespeare reads there were "nine changes to the watery star" This is interpreted to mean the moon, as it effects the tides. So the moon should be 9 days away from a full moon.

Or if an occultation is too rare would there be an appulse that matches the criteria?

1) Venus is rising.
2) The moon is waning nine days.
3) As seen from Sicily.

I am led to understand that this is a rare event, happening once every 200 years or more, and I would be curious to know about any other unusual astronomical events that occurred within +/- 23 or 24 years of this rare event.

Where could I find this information? Is there a star chart I could check?

**Tags:** the-moon, venus

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Did you mean occultation?  
> **username_0**: It could be an occultation.  How often does that occur?  
> **username_1**: Lunar occultations of planets are fairly rare and observable from a limited area.  
> **username_2**: There is a module in stellarium that lets you compute astronomical events in a given interval of time.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2020-06-06. Score: 3

If the Moon is 9 days past full, then it can't be occulting (or even at its closest approach to) Venus. Since Venus is an interior planet, it never gets far from the Sun in the sky as seen from Earth; its maximum elongation (maximum angle between Sun and Venus) is 47°. So to occult Venus, the Moon would also have to be that close to the Sun in the sky.

However, when the Moon is 9 days past full, it is still more than 70° from the Sun in the sky (verified with calculation of lunar position and phase from [JPL Horizons](https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons.cgi); the "SOT" angle given there is "Sun-Observer-Target" and thus the Sun-Moon angle as seen from Earth). The Moon doesn't get within 47° of the Sun until about 11 days past full.

On a more literary note, the passage "nine changes of the watery star" (from *The Winter's Tale*) seems to be typically interpreted in commentaries to mean nine *months* have passed, i.e. each "change" is a full cycle of lunar phases.

EDIT: If you want to search for historical occultations in general, it looks like the Windows software [Occult 4](http://www.lunar-occultations.com/iota/occult4.htm) should be able to do it. The [PDF guide](http://www.lunar-occultations.com/iota/occulttips.pdf) has some tips for setting it up.


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