Moon Occults Venus in Rare Daytime Eclipse Visible to 10% of Earth

On September 14, 2026, a rare daytime eclipse occurred when the Moon passed in front of Venus, a phenomenon visible to only about 10% of the planet. The event was first noted near noon over the small village of Cessy, France, where the Moon’s faint crescent—illuminated by roughly 10% of the Sun—was barely discernible behind clouds. Soon after, a bright dot appeared from behind the Moon: Venus, showing a crescent about 25% illuminated. Venus’s greater brightness stems from its proximity to the Sun and highly reflective cloud cover, contrasting with the Moon’s darker surface. The Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) image, credited to Arnaud Mariat and produced by NASA’s Astrophysics Science Division, captures both bodies in a single exposure. NASA’s APOD site is transitioning from apod. nasa. gov to science. nasa. gov/apod.