Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2026 February 28 [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. Lunar Occultation of Mercury Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Fabrizio Melandri Explanation: [5]Fans of the western sky after sunset have lately enjoyed this month's remarkable array of bright planets. Witnessed from some [6]locations, on February 18 planet Mercury even appeared to slide behind the Moon, an event known as a lunar occultation. These two snapshots, taken in early evening skies show before and after telescopic views of the rare disappearance of [7]innermost planet behind young Moon. The top panel finds bright Mercury just visible at the northern (right) edge of the [8]earthshine-illuminated lunar disk. In the bottom panel the bright planet has emerged in darker skies beyond the Moon's sunlit crescent. As seen south of Sallisaw, Oklahoma, planet Earth, this lunar occultation of Mercury lasted only about 3 minutes ([9]video). But you can still check out a parade of [10]planets tonight. March 3: [11]Total Lunar Eclipse Tomorrow's picture: [12]moon dark __________________________________________________________________ [13]< | [14]Archive | [15]Submissions | [16]Index | [17]Search | [18]Calendar | [19]RSS | [20]Education | [21]About APOD | [22]Discuss | [23]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [24]Robert Nemiroff ([25]MTU) & [26]Jerry Bonnell ([27]UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn [28]Specific rights apply. [29]NASA Web Privacy, [30]Accessibility, [31]Notices; A service of: [32]ASD at [33]NASA / [34]GSFC, [35]NASA Science Activation & [36]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2602/LunarOccultMercury_2026Feb18-Melandri.jpg 3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 4. https://www.flickr.com/photos/fabriziomelandri/ 5. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260221.html 6. https://in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=20260218_16_100 7. https://science.nasa.gov/mercury/ 8. https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/earthshine-83782/ 9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2602/VideoMercuryoccultation2026Feb18-Melandri.mp4 10. https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/whats-up-february-2026-skywatching-tips-from-nasa/ 11. https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/moon/march-2026-total-lunar-eclipse-your-questions-answered/ 12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260301.html 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260227.html 14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 17. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 19. https://apod.com/feed.rss 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 22. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260228 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260301.html 24. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 25. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 26. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 27. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 29. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 30. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/ 31. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/ 32. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 33. https://www.nasa.gov/ 34. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 35. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 36. http://www.mtu.edu/