Watch the Moon Occult Venus in Broad Daylight with Hestia
12 Jun. 2026
On Wednesday, June 17, 2026, the Moon will pass directly in front of Venus in the middle of the afternoon, a daytime lunar occultation visible from the contiguous United States, as well as parts of Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and northern South America. With Hestia and your smartphone, you can observe and photograph this rare celestial event.
A Daytime Occultation of Venus. What Is It?
A lunar occultation occurs when the Moon passes in front of a planet or star, completely hiding it from view. These events happen because the Moon orbits Earth on a slightly tilted path that periodically brings it across the line of sight to other objects in the solar system.
What makes June 17 unusual is that the occultation happens in full daylight. Venus is actually visible during the day at magnitude −4.0, it is bright enough to be seen with the naked eye if you know exactly where to look. The problem is that the blue glare of the daytime sky makes it nearly impossible to locate without a reference point. The Moon changes that entirely: a thin crescent hanging in the afternoon sky gives you a precise target to aim at, and Venus will be sitting right beside it just before disappearing behind it.
Even in broad daylight, the Moon is visible with Hestia
What You Will See Through Hestia
On June 17, the Moon will be a very thin waxing crescent, roughly 10–12% illuminated, about three days past New Moon. This slim sliver of light is what makes the event so visually striking.
Venus will first be visible just to the side of the Moon's dark, unilluminated limb — the portion of the lunar disk that is not lit by the Sun and therefore invisible against the sky. As the Moon moves eastward in its orbit, Venus will slowly approach this invisible edge and then disappear, winking out as if switched off. Because Venus is not a point of light but a real disk, about 15 arcseconds across, the disappearance is not perfectly instantaneous: the Moon takes approximately 30 seconds to cover it completely. Watch carefully.
Simulation of the scene just before the occultation, with Venus on the left-hand side of the Moon
Venus will then remain hidden behind the Moon for roughly 1 to 1.5 hours, depending on your location. When it reappears, it will emerge on the bright, sunlit crescent limb — a more challenging moment to catch, since Venus must re-emerge against the bright edge of the Moon, but a rewarding one.
Where and When to See It
The occultation is visible from the contiguous United States as well as parts of Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and northern South America. Timing varies significantly by location. Observers on the West Coast will see it late morning, while those on the East Coast will catch it in the mid-to-late afternoon.
| City | Venus disappears | Venus reappears | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York, NY (EDT) | ~3:53 p.m. | ~5:10 p.m. | ~1h 17m |
| Miami, FL (EDT) | ~4:06 p.m. | ~5:25 p.m. | ~1h 18m |
| Chicago, IL (CDT) | ~2:24 p.m. | ~3:50 p.m. | ~1h 26m |
| Dallas, TX (CDT) | ~2:18 p.m. | ~3:34 p.m. | ~1h 16m |
| Houston, TX (CDT) | ~2:29 p.m. | ~3:36 p.m. | ~1h 07m |
| Denver, CO (MDT) | ~12:55–12:56 p.m. | ~2:18 p.m. | ~1h 22m |
| Phoenix, AZ (MST) | ~11:50 a.m. | ~12:55 p.m. | ~1h 05m |
| Los Angeles, CA (PDT) | ~11:40 a.m. | ~12:44 p.m. | ~1h 04m |
| Seattle, WA (PDT) | ~11:41 a.m. | ~12:51 p.m. | ~1h 10m |
| Toronto, ON (EDT) | ~3:42 p.m. | ~4:59 p.m. | ~1h 17m |
| Montreal, QC (EDT) | ~3:35 p.m. | ~4:57 p.m. | ~1h 22m |
Times are approximate. For precise times at your exact location, check the IOTA prediction table at lunar-occultations.com or use a planetarium app such as Stellarium.
The Moon will be comfortably high in the sky across most of the country. Make sure you have a clear, unobstructed view toward the south.
How to Observe and Photograph It with Hestia
1. Prepare at least 30 minutes in advance.
Check the disappearance time for your city in the table above and be ready well before it. This is a fixed-time event.
2. Locate the crescent Moon.
Open a sky chart app such as Stellarium to determine the direction and altitude of the Moon from your location. Once you know where to look, try to spot the thin crescent with the naked eye. It may be faint in the bright daytime sky, but it is there.
3. Set up Hestia and establish focus.
Mount your smartphone on Hestia and open the Gravity app. Start by focusing on a distant point in the landscape to get a sharp baseline focus.
4. Point Hestia toward the Moon.
Using the optional finder scope or by sighting carefully along the edge of the Hestia housing (or the solar pointer), orient the instrument toward the crescent Moon. Move slowly and deliberately. Never sweep past the Sun. Once the Moon appears on your smartphone screen, refine your pointing and adjust focus if necessary. Venus should be visible nearby.
5. Watch for the disappearance.
Once you have the Moon and Venus in frame, monitor the scene closely. Take several photos before the disappearance. As Venus approaches the dark limb of the Moon, try to capture the moment of ingress, the roughly 30-second window during which Venus is progressively covered.
6. Use Gravity's timelapse mode.
Use the timelapse feature in the Gravity app for short sequences around ingress and egress. Since Hestia does not track the sky automatically, you will need to re-center the Moon periodically if you want to document the full event. Short timelapse sequences can show Venus disappearing behind the Moon and, later, reappearing on the crescent side.
7. Stay for the reappearance.
About 1 to 1.5 hours after disappearance, Venus will re-emerge on the bright limb of the Moon. This moment is harder to anticipate precisely, so keep Hestia running and stay attentive. The reappearance is fast and well worth the wait.
Don't forget to share your results
Did you manage to capture this unique moment? Share your images and timelapses on the official Hestia Facebook group and on your social media, mentioning @vaonis.
