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April 25 Moon Occults Regulus, Visible Across U.S.

4/25/2026

Summary

Moon Occults Regulus

On April 25, 2026, a waxing gibbous Moon will occult the 1st-magnitude star Regulus across the United States.
In New York City the star will miss the Moon’s dark limb by only 30 arc seconds at 9:04 p.m. EDT.
In Raleigh, North Carolina Regulus will vanish at 8:32 p.m. EDT and reappear at 9:34 p.m. EDT.
The occultation will be visible to the naked eye under dark skies, while binoculars or a small telescope improve the view of the star’s reappearance.

Summary

IOTA Predicts

IOTA provides predictions for 660 locations with UT times and a color-coded map on its website.
NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio supplied the lunar background that Joe Rao plotted in the graphic.
The Canva Pro graphic shows Regulus’s track across the Moon for selected eastern U.S. sites.
Amateur astronomers can use the tables, which list observations such as Lexington, KY at 8:18 p.m. ET, and include asterisked times that indicate disappearances during bright twilight.

History

Historical Context

In May 1919, two British-led expeditions to Príncipe and Sobral photographed stars during a total solar eclipse, providing the first empirical confirmation of Einstein’s general relativity. Over a century later, the April 25 2026 Regulus occultation is being mapped by NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio, the International Occultation Timing Association and Canva Pro, echoing the collaborative model that began with Eddington’s eclipse test.

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Moon Occults Regulus

On April 25, 2026, a waxing gibbous Moon will occult the 1st-magnitude star Regulus across the United States.
In New York City the star will miss the Moon’s dark limb by only 30 arc seconds at 9:04 p.m. EDT.
In Raleigh, North Carolina Regulus will vanish at 8:32 p.m. EDT and reappear at 9:34 p.m. EDT.
The occultation will be visible to the naked eye under dark skies, while binoculars or a small telescope improve the view of the star’s reappearance.

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