<p>Yes, such events are called occultations.
The Moon can occult anything within about 5 degrees of the ecliptic.
The visibility of any lunar occultation is limited to a path as wide as the Moon is.</p>

<p>This <a href="http://earthsky.org/sky-archive/occultations-galore-on-september-18" rel="noreferrer">EarthSky article</a> discusses a series of lunar occultations of planets in September 2017, including Venus as seen from Australia.
The article includes a photo of a February 2014 occultation of Venus
and an excerpt of Guy Ottewell's <a href="http://universalworkshop.com/guysblog/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/occ17.qxd_-1.pdf" rel="noreferrer">lunar occultation charts for 2017</a>.</p>

<p>The <a href="https://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/moon-flys-by-catalina-occults-venus-on-dec-7th120220150212/" rel="noreferrer">Sky &amp; Telescope article</a> which barrycarter found describes a lunar occultation of Venus visible from North America in December 2015 and includes a photo of an April 2009 occultation of Venus.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-23T21:30:19.087Z
Thanks for this. The key word I was missing was occultation. With that, Google searches become much more informative!
CatchAsCatchCan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-23T15:40:56.920Z
2018-08-23T15:40:56.920Z
Mike G
<p>As @Donald.McLean said in comments, the answer is yes, the Moon can and does occult the other planets in the Solar System. When something apparently big (like the Moon) passes in front of something apparently small (another planet) it's called an <em>occultation</em>. (I say <em>apparently</em> because from our perspective the Moon <em>appears</em> larger than the planets.)</p>

<p>The planets lie* in the ecliptic plane whereas the Moon's orbit is inclined at about 5° to the ecliptic plane, so the Moon crosses the ecliptic plane twice each orbit, so it's not as frequent as it would be if the Moon's orbit were in the ecliptic plane.</p>

<p>Occultations of the planets by the Moon can be found <a href="http://www.lunar-occultations.com/iota/planets/planets.htm" rel="noreferrer">here</a>. There is also software (<a href="http://www.lunar-occultations.com/iota/occult4.htm" rel="noreferrer">Occult</a>) that you can use to generate your own predictions.</p>

<p>* Although the planets are said to lie in the ecliptic plane, this is a generalisation - they actually have orbits that are within a few degrees of the ecliptic "plane".</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-23T15:34:53.603Z
It's pretty common to use "big" to indicate angular extent rather than physical size, but props for being explicit here.
Carl Witthoft
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-23T23:38:59.363Z
"Occult", from the Latin *occultus*: clandestine, hidden, secret.
RonJohn
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-24T12:38:29.543Z
_"The planets lie in the ecliptic plane whereas the Moon's orbit is inclined at about 5° to the ecliptic plane"_ The planets also have inclined orbits, Venus for example has 3.4° inclination relative to the ecliptic plane.
JiK
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-24T12:44:44.160Z
@JiK Yes, I may have oversimplified a bit.
Mick
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-24T21:13:48.780Z
Given the moon has an angular diameter of 0.5°, about 10% of it's orbital inclination, passing the elliptic plane involves an extended period of potential occlusion each half orbit.
TemporalWolf
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-24T21:54:22.033Z
Next question: how long until the moon is far enough away that the answer becomes a no? Trick question because the sun will already be a red dwarf that slagged Earth?
Mazura
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-23T15:01:59.123Z
2018-08-24T12:43:20.877Z
2018-08-24T12:43:20.877Z
Mick
<p>The title basically says it all. As seen from the Earth, is it possible for the Moon to eclipse Venus (or any other planet) or are the orbits inclined such that this never happens?</p>

<p>If such an eclipse is possible, is it a frequent or infrequent event? How would I find out when the next one occurs?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-23T14:52:31.137Z
I'm pretty sure that the answer is yes. I'm guessing that people don't pay it any attention because it isn't visually interesting the way that lunar and solar eclipses are.
Donald.McLean
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-23T15:55:22.110Z
@barrycarter, write answers!
Mike G
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-23T22:42:37.460Z
Note that occultation is a bit different to an eclipse, since in occultation the Moon merely blocks our view of the occulted body, whereas in an eclipse a shadow is cast: the Earth's shadow on the Moon in a lunar eclipse, and the Moon's shadow on the Earth in a solar eclipse.
PM 2Ring
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-24T01:34:47.430Z
@PM2Ring I don't find that a particularly useful distinction since blocking the light from one body with a second will always create a shadow, even if it's not noticeable to the human eye.
CatchAsCatchCan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-24T21:35:37.760Z
@CannonFodder It's a useful distinction because the shadow in an eclipse is a fundamental feature of the phenomenon. Whereas with an occultation the occulted body is not obscured by a shadow cast by the occulting body. E.g. if a Full Moon occults Jupiter, their shadow cones are pointing away from Earth, and the Moon's shadow certainly doesn't create a solar eclipse on Jupiter. But  I guess if it's aligned correctly, and you had a good telescope, you could see our Moon (and the Earth) transiting the Sun from a Jovian orbit.
PM 2Ring
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-27T22:49:24.377Z
Note that in the ordinary sense of an eclipse being **a transit across the Sun and involving the Moon** (thus: a solar eclipse when viewed from Earth, or a lunar eclipse when viewed from the Moon), it is never possible for the Moon to eclipse Venus, since the Moon cannot pass between Venus and the Sun.
Chappo Hasn't Forgotten
<the-moon><venus><eclipse-non-earth-related>
Can the Moon eclipse Venus?
CatchAsCatchCan
# Can the Moon eclipse Venus?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-08-23)

The title basically says it all. As seen from the Earth, is it possible for the Moon to eclipse Venus (or any other planet) or are the orbits inclined such that this never happens?

If such an eclipse is possible, is it a frequent or infrequent event? How would I find out when the next one occurs?

**Tags:** the-moon, venus, eclipse-non-earth-related

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I'm pretty sure that the answer is yes. I'm guessing that people don't pay it any attention because it isn't visually interesting the way that lunar and solar eclipses are.  
> **username_2**: @barrycarter, write answers!  
> **username_3**: Note that occultation is a bit different to an eclipse, since in occultation the Moon merely blocks our view of the occulted body, whereas in an eclipse a shadow is cast: the Earth's shadow on the Moon in a lunar eclipse, and the Moon's shadow on the Earth in a solar eclipse.  
> **username_0**: @username_3 I don't find that a particularly useful distinction since blocking the light from one body with a second will always create a shadow, even if it's not noticeable to the human eye.  
> **username_3**: @CannonFodder It's a useful distinction because the shadow in an eclipse is a fundamental feature of the phenomenon. Whereas with an occultation the occulted body is not obscured by a shadow cast by the occulting body. E.g. if a Full Moon occults Jupiter, their shadow cones are pointing away from Earth, and the Moon's shadow certainly doesn't create a solar eclipse on Jupiter. But  I guess if it's aligned correctly, and you had a good telescope, you could see our Moon (and the Earth) transiting the Sun from a Jovian orbit.  
> **username_4**: Note that in the ordinary sense of an eclipse being **a transit across the Sun and involving the Moon** (thus: a solar eclipse when viewed from Earth, or a lunar eclipse when viewed from the Moon), it is never possible for the Moon to eclipse Venus, since the Moon cannot pass between Venus and the Sun.  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2018-08-23. Score: 35 | Accepted answer

As @username_1 said in comments, the answer is yes, the Moon can and does occult the other planets in the Solar System. When something apparently big (like the Moon) passes in front of something apparently small (another planet) it's called an *occultation*. (I say *apparently* because from our perspective the Moon *appears* larger than the planets.)

The planets lie\* in the ecliptic plane whereas the Moon's orbit is inclined at about 5° to the ecliptic plane, so the Moon crosses the ecliptic plane twice each orbit, so it's not as frequent as it would be if the Moon's orbit were in the ecliptic plane.

Occultations of the planets by the Moon can be found [here](http://www.lunar-occultations.com/iota/planets/planets.htm). There is also software ([Occult](http://www.lunar-occultations.com/iota/occult4.htm)) that you can use to generate your own predictions.

\* Although the planets are said to lie in the ecliptic plane, this is a generalisation - they actually have orbits that are within a few degrees of the ecliptic "plane".

> **Comments:**
> **username_6**: It's pretty common to use "big" to indicate angular extent rather than physical size, but props for being explicit here.  
> **username_7**: "Occult", from the Latin *occultus*: clandestine, hidden, secret.  
> **username_8**: _"The planets lie in the ecliptic plane whereas the Moon's orbit is inclined at about 5° to the ecliptic plane"_ The planets also have inclined orbits, Venus for example has 3.4° inclination relative to the ecliptic plane.  
> **username_5**: @username_8 Yes, I may have oversimplified a bit.  
> **username_9**: Given the moon has an angular diameter of 0.5°, about 10% of it's orbital inclination, passing the elliptic plane involves an extended period of potential occlusion each half orbit.  
> **username_10**: Next question: how long until the moon is far enough away that the answer becomes a no? Trick question because the sun will already be a red dwarf that slagged Earth?  

---

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-08-23. Score: 13

Yes, such events are called occultations.
The Moon can occult anything within about 5 degrees of the ecliptic.
The visibility of any lunar occultation is limited to a path as wide as the Moon is.

This [EarthSky article](http://earthsky.org/sky-archive/occultations-galore-on-september-18) discusses a series of lunar occultations of planets in September 2017, including Venus as seen from Australia.
The article includes a photo of a February 2014 occultation of Venus
and an excerpt of Guy Ottewell's [lunar occultation charts for 2017](http://universalworkshop.com/guysblog/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/occ17.qxd_-1.pdf).

The [Sky & Telescope article](https://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/moon-flys-by-catalina-occults-venus-on-dec-7th120220150212/) which barrycarter found describes a lunar occultation of Venus visible from North America in December 2015 and includes a photo of an April 2009 occultation of Venus.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks for this. The key word I was missing was occultation. With that, Google searches become much more informative!  

---

