Daylight Occultation of Jupiter, Tuesday, 3 November 2026

The north-western sky as seen from Brisbane at 9:59 AEST on Tuesday 3 November. The moon is obvious above the horizon, but you will need binoculars or a telescope to see Jupiter.  The left-hand inset shows the magnified view just as the occultation starts, and the right-hand view is the view as Jupiter comes out from behind the Moon.	The north-western sky as seen from Adelaide at 9:50 ACDST on Tuesday 3 November. The moon is obvious above the horizon, but you will need binoculars or a telescope to see Jupiter.  The left-hand inset shows the magnified view just as the occultation starts, and the right-hand view is the view as Jupiter comes out from behind the Moon.	The northern sky as seen from Perth at 6:46 AWST on Tuesday 3 November. The moon is obvious above the horizon, but you will need binoculars or a telescope to see Jupiter.  The left-hand inset shows the magnified view just as the occultation starts, and the right-hand view is the view as Jupiter comes out from behind the Moon.

WARNING! This daytime occultation occurs not far from the Sun and should be attempted by experienced observers only. The Moon will be 76 degrees (around 12 hand-spans) from the Sun. Exposure to the Sun through a telescope eye-piece can result in instant blindness. Any observation should be carried out with the sun blocked from view by a building or similar large, obscuring object with no possibility of the sun being accidentally observed.

On the morning of Tuesday 3 November Jupiter is occulted by waning Moon as seen from the most of Australia, Indonesia, Papua new Guinea  and New Zealand. However far north Queensland misses out. The Moon is just past last quarter and high in the north to northwest. It is an obvious signpost for where to look.  Jupiter will not be visible to the unaided eye, but in binoculars and telescopes Jupiter will be obvious close to the Moon. The times of disappearance and reappearance of Jupiter is in the table below. 

Most of Australia sees Jupiter’s satellite Europa get occulted first, then Jupiter will take around 2 minutes to disappear behind the Moon. For Darwin and  Brisbane Jupiter will skim along the Moons surface as it exits from occultation. Between Caboolture  and Marybrough, there will be a graze or a very close approach, well worth watching.  

Telescopic view of Jupiter and its satellites just before the occultation. Europa leads the way.	Telescopic view of Jupiter and its satellites just after the occultation. Europa still leads the way and the other satellites will appear to “pop” out.

Start watching about half an hour before hand to get set up and familiar with the sky. This is a daytime occultation requiring a small telescope or binoculars and extreme caution and attention to Sun safety. 

My blog of the 2012 Daylight Jupiter Moon graze should give you a feel for what it will look like, and some photography hints. 

Jupiter and its satellites will appear to “wink out” as it goes behind the bright limb of the Moon, reappearance will be harder to see as you have to be looking just at the right moment.

The occultation occurs in the early morning with the Moon reasonably high above the north-western to northern horizon. The Moon just past last quarter and should be obvious, but you will still need extreme care with the sun. 

The Moon is a signpost to Jupiter which will only be visible in binoculars or telescopes. It is advisable to set up and practice on the Moon in the morning before the event, so you are familiar with your telescope set-up. Set up at least half an hour ahead of time so that you can be sure everything is working well and you can watch the entire event comfortably (trying to focus your telescope moments before the occultation will cause a lot of unnecessary stress). Jupiter will be clearly visible in a telescope or binoculars near the Moon. Again, the Sun will be close by, so only experienced observers who can block out the Sun should attempt this.