Telescope livestream: Watch the moon pass in front of the Pleiades on April 19

Get ready for an amazing sight, as the waxing crescent moon passes in front of — and briefly occults —the blue-white stars of the Pleiades on April 19. Here's how to watch the alignment unfold in real time online with this Virtual Telescope Project livestream.

the moon slip from the Pleiades in the hours following sunset, as the lunar disk arcs towards the western horizon, chasing the glow of the retreating sun.

You may like A three panel image showing the Pleiades open star cluster on the left, with a crescent upturned moon against a black sky in the middle and the bright, star-like form of Venus on the right. Don't miss the moon, Venus and the Pleiades align after sunset on April 19 A graphic of a waxing crescent moon is shown surrounded by a white circle with four lines emanating outward at right angles. Blue-white stars are visible in the background. See the delicate crescent moon dance with the 'Seven Sisters' of the Pleiades tonight A silvery waxing moon is shown to the right of a two-panel image with most of its right side illuminated by sunlight against a black sky, leaving only a small crescent wreathed in impenetrable shadow. Dark lunar seas and craters can be seen marking the lunar surface. A collection of blue-white stars are pictured to the left, surrounded by a diffuse blue glow against the dimmer starfield beyond, which is threaded with wispy clouds. See the 'Seven Sisters' of the Pleiades swim in the light of a waxing moon at sunset tonight

Virtual Telescope Project's YouTube livestream will begin at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) on April 19, providing real-time telescopic views from its panoramic telescope as the crescent moon slips from the Pleiades in the skies over Italy, weather permitting.

"It will be a memorable sight involving our satellite, showing as a sharp crescent with its elegant 'earthshine' and one of the most iconic deep-sky gems, Messier 45," Virtual Telescope Project founder Gianluca Masi told Space.com in an email.

A balding man with a beard wearing dark glasses and a navy shirt looks at the camera

Gianluca Masi is a professional astronomer and founder of The Virtual Telescope Project, which provides access to several robotic telescopes, along with special events and other scientific outreach initiatives.

Earthshine occurs when sunlight bounces off our planet's cloudy atmosphere to strike the moon, bathing its unlit side in a subtle glow that can reveal the dark forms of lunar maria, vast plains where ancient lava once cooled and hardened into sweeping basaltic landscapes.

The occultation takes place just two days after the April 17 new moon. Earthshine is particularly easy to spot around this time and the relatively weak glow from the moon's sunlit crescent won't be enough to obscure the light of the Pleiades, as its stars — more than 1,000 in total —shine about 445 light-years away in the constellation Taurus.

Editor's Note: If you would capture a photo of the moon with the Pleiades and want to share it with Space.com's readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.

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