A daytime glimpse of Venus passing behind the Moon

Observers looking toward the sky above Cessy, France, caught an unusual daytime astronomical event: an occultation of Venus by the Moon.

While hidden clouds made the Moon difficult to see at midday, Venus emerged from behind the lunar edge as a distinct bright pinpoint. Both celestial bodies showed crescent phases, though Venus appeared substantially brighter. Because Venus orbits closer to the Sun and possesses highly reflective cloud cover, it outshone the darker lunar surface, which had only about 10 percent of its face illuminated.