Editing Antares (section)

=== Occultations and conjunctions ===
[[File:Antares-R.webm|thumb|right|Lunar Occultation of Antares (reappearance) was observed on 2006 May 14 from The Blue Mountains, Australia. Antares B reappears first, followed by Antares A 7.53 seconds later.]]
Antares is 4.57 degrees south of the [[ecliptic]], one of four [[first magnitude star]]s within 6° of the ecliptic (the others are [[Spica]], [[Regulus]] and [[Aldebaran]]), so it can be [[Occultation|occulted]] by the [[Moon]]. The occultation of 31 July 2009 was visible in much of southern Asia and the Middle East.<ref name="iota" /><ref name="timesofindia" /> Every year around December 2 the Sun passes 5° north of Antares.<ref name="LASCO" /> Lunar occultations of Antares are fairly common, depending on the 18.6-year cycle of the [[lunar node]]s. The last cycle ended in 2010 and the next begins in 2023. Shown at right is a video of a reappearance event, clearly showing events for both components.

Antares can also be occulted by the planets, e.g. [[Venus]], but these events are rare. The last occultation of Antares by Venus took place on September 17, 525 BC; the next one will be November 17, 2400.<ref name=jbaa/> Other planets have been calculated not to have occulted Antares over the last millennium, nor will they in the next millennium, as most planets stay near the ecliptic and pass north of Antares.<ref name=nightwatch/> Venus will be extremely near Antares on October 19, 2117, and every eight years thereafter through to October 29, 2157, it will pass ''south'' of the star.<ref name=chart/>