NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day on Nov. 10, 2026, features a composite image of Saturn as the Moon moved across the planet’s line of sight. The event, known as an occultation, occurred in early 2025 and was visible along a limited path on Earth, extending from Greenland through central Europe and into northern Africa, according to the NASA explanation accompanying the image.
The photograph was taken after sunset in Sardinia, Italy, and is credited to Roberto Ortu. NASA says the finished image combines three separate exposures: one showing Saturn before the Moon covered it, and two showing the Moon at different exposure lengths. Combining images with different exposures can represent the bright lunar surface and the comparatively dim planet in a single picture.
The small bright point near Saturn in the image is the star 85 Aquarii, not one of Saturn’s moons. NASA’s explanation notes that the star is farther behind Saturn from the viewer’s perspective, while Saturn itself appears behind the nearer Moon. The apparent disappearance is an effect of the objects lining up in the sky; Saturn does not physically vanish.
A lunar occultation is visible only from locations where the Moon’s path crosses in front of the background object. NASA says the next time the Moon passes in front of Saturn as seen from some location on Earth will be in 2031. The date and viewing location for that future event are not specified in the supplied NASA material.
The daily feature is part of NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day program, which presents a different image or photograph of the universe with an explanation written by a professional astronomer. The page lists Robert Nemiroff, Jerry Bonnell, Cecilia Chirenti and Keighley Rockcliffe as authors and editors. It identifies the service as supported by NASA’s Astrophysics Science Division at Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA Science Activation and Michigan Technological University.
