During the overnight hours of Feb. 5-6, the moon will pass through the famous Pleiades star cluster while one day past its half-lit first quarter phase. This will actually be the third time in the past four months that the moon has interacted with this famous star pattern in what is known as an occultation.
As was noted here at Space.com last month, we are currently at the start of a series of occultations involving the Pleiades that will occur on a monthly basis right through the year 2029. Each occultation favors different parts of our globe, with much of North America having been favored on Nov. 16, 2024 and most recently again on Jan. 9.
