On June 17, a rare event happened. Venus briefly disappeared behind the moon. This event was seen in the daytime across much of North America.
A video showed the moon moving in front of Venus. This made Venus hard to see for a short time. The moon blocks the view of stars and planets when it passes directly in front of them. This kind of event is called a lunar occultation.
People saw this event in the U.S., Canada, northern Mexico, and some Caribbean countries. This is unusual because many sky events happen at night.
The video showed when Venus went behind the dark side of the crescent moon. Later, Venus came back into view. Lunar occultations happen often, but it is rare for the moon to cover bright planets like Venus.
The moon moves quickly in the sky. It travels eastward at about 2,300 miles per hour. This speed allows the moon to block stars and planets from time to time. Even though Venus is much farther away, the moon looks larger from Earth. This is why it can completely cover Venus.
