A dramatic occultation of the planet Venus by the waning crescent moon takes place during early morning on Wednesday, April 22. The word occult means "to hide" or "hidden" -- and that's just what the moon does to Venus by passing in front of it from Earth's point of view. Both the crescent moon and the brilliant planet Venus will be hovering over the east horizon in deep morning twilight at 5 a.m. At around 5:07 a.m., the moon's sunlit crescent limb will start covering up Venus, a process lasting around 30 seconds. Venus will remain hidden until around 5:55 a.m., when it gradually emerges from behind the dark limb of the moon in a brightly lit twilight sky. Binoculars or a telescope will greatly enhance the view of the event. For San Diegans, this will be 2009's most spectacular astronomical sight. City residents, however, may have to head east into the eastern suburbs or the mountains to evade the early-morning low clouds that typically extend some miles inland from the coast around this time of year.

The Lyrid Meteor Shower peaks during the early-morning hours of Wednesday, April 22. If you have traveled far enough east away from city lights to enjoy the Venus occultation listed above, then keep an eye out for some of the 15 or so meteors you might see per hour at the peak of this annually occurring meteor shower. Meteors belonging to this shower appear to emanate from the constellation Lyra (the Harp), which contains the bright blue star Vega.