May 16, 2010 VENUS OCCULTATION REPORT
by James Kevin Ty
Illustrations Prepared by James Kevin Ty

There will be a planetary occultation by the Moon this coming May 16, 2010.  This will be the Venus occultation by the thin crescent Moon. An occultation refers to the passage of a celestial body across a line between an observer and another celestial object. This event will be visible in the Philippines but is more favorable to Luzon observers because they will be able to observe the disappearance (ingress) and reappearance (egress) whereas those in the Visayas and Mindanao areas such as Cebu and Davao City will only be able to observe the disappearance (Ingress) event only.  This event is best observed by selecting an observing site that has a clear western horizon particularly WNW area.  In Manila, one of the best sites to observe this event will be in Manila Bay area such as in Luneta or in SM MOA San Miguel by the Bay area.

Below are the list of times of Ingress and Egress  of some selected main cities in our country:

Below are the predicted position where the planet Venus will disappear (Ingress) and reappears (Egress) behind the lunar limb:

MANILA

NASUGBU , BATANGAS

BAGUIO CITY

CEBU CITY

DAVAO CITY

In light with this, the Astronomical League of the Philippines (ALP) will be setting up 2 main observing sites to observe this beautiful event.  The first observing site will be setup at Astrocamp Observatory in SM MOA San Miguel by the Bay and will be led by ALP PRO Armando Lee while the second observing site will be set up in Nasugbu, Batangas to get a better chance to observe and document this event carefully and accurately.  ALP will be observing , imaging and get accurate timings of the disappearance and reappearance of the planet Venus behind the thin crescent Moon.

For details on our setup time , logistics and other inquiries, please contact ALP President  James Kevin Ty at 0917-8559863 or 0922-8999ALP (257)  or ALP PRO Armando Lee at 09177922053 .