Skywatchers have an unusual reason to set an early alarm on Tuesday, Oct. 6, when a waning crescent moon passes directly in front of Jupiter in a spectacular and rare lunar occultation. The event will unfold across parts of North America, the Caribbean and Africa. From across the world, the moon and brilliant Jupiter will appear exceptionally close the night before. Here’s everything you need to know and when, where and how to see the lunar occultation of Jupiter.

The moon will occult Jupiter on Oct. 6, 2026, temporarily hiding the giant planet from view across parts of North America, the Caribbean and Africa. Elsewhere, observers can still see an exceptionally close conjunction between the moon and Jupiter.

The event occurs with a roughly 20%-illuminated waning crescent moon. Exact occultation times vary by location.

Binoculars, telescopes and smart telescopes will provide the most dramatic view. but since some observers will see the event with the sun in the sky, it’s important to stay safe — and not point optics anywhere near the sun.

What Is A Lunar Occultation?

An occultation occurs when a celestial object passes in front of a more distant object and temporarily blocks it from view. On Oct. 6, a 20%-illuminated waning crescent moon will cross directly between Earth and Jupiter, causing the giant planet to disappear behind the lunar disk for a short period. The occultation begins as the moon’s bright eastern limb covers Jupiter. The giant planet will take a few minutes to disappear completely behind the moon, according to SkyandTelescope.com . It will take a similar amount of time to emerge from the dark side of the moon.

When To Watch Jupiter Disappear

According to In-The-Sky.com , the occultation is only visible from certain parts of the world because the moon’s apparent position against the background sky can vary by as much as two degrees depending on an observer’s location. That also means the exact times Jupiter disappears and reappears vary a lot by location. According to WhenTheCurvesLineUp.com , Jupiter will disappear and remerge at approximately these times:

  • Boston: 4:26 a.m. and 5:29 a.m. EDT
  • Chicago: 3:22 a.m. and 4:17 a.m. CDT
  • New York City: 4:23 a.m. and 5:27 a.m. EDT

Exact times for more locations are available on the IOTA website.

How To See Jupiter And The Moon

No telescope is required, although binoculars will make locating the moon and Jupiter easier. According to SkyandTelescope.com, observers who locate the moon within about half an hour of the occultation should find Jupiter just east of the crescent and potentially within the same telescope field of view. Tripod-mounted 10×50 binoculars may also show Jupiter as a tiny pale disk.

Smart telescopes provide another option for observing and photographing the occultation. Models like the ZWO Seestar, DwarfLab Dwarf, Unisteller eVscope and Vaonis Vespera can automatically locate, track and image hard-to-see events like a lunar occultation.