February 28, 2026
Consider this: the iron in your blood was forged in a supernova explosion billions of years ago.
Lunar Occultation of Mercury
Birthday · February 28, 2026
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APOD published February 28, 2026. Credit: Fabrizio Melandri. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Fans of the western sky after sunset have lately enjoyed this month's remarkable array of bright planets. Witnessed from some 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 innermost planet behind young Moon. The top panel finds bright Mercury just visible at the northern (right) edge of the 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 (video). But you can still check out a parade of planets tonight. March 3: Total Lunar Eclipse
Image credit: Fabrizio Melandri