Daytime Lunar Occultation of Venus Captured in France

• A rare daytime occultation of Venus by the Moon was photographed near Cessy, France, on September 14, 2026.
• Both celestial bodies displayed crescent phases during the event, despite being visible against a daytime sky.

Observations and Physics

• The Moon appeared as a thin crescent with roughly 10 percent of its surface illuminated by the Sun.
• Venus exhibited a more prominent crescent shape with approximately 25 percent illumination.
• Venus appeared brighter than the Moon in the image because the planet is closer to the Sun and its cloud cover is more reflective than the lunar surface.

Event Context

• Venus occultations by the Moon are visible from only about 10 percent of the Earth's surface at any given time.
• Most of the visibility window for this particular event occurred during daylight hours, making the observation challenging.