“Saturn’s Ingress,” detail
Lunar occultations are exciting events for any astrophotographer, as the Moon appears to pass in front of a celestial body. They’re particularly thrilling when a planet is involved, and that was reason enough for astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy to travel nearly 3,000 miles. McCarthy flew all the way to Hawaii to get the best position for photographing the recent lunar occultation of Saturn.
McCarthy didn’t go just anywhere in Hawaii, but to Mauna Kea. This dormant volcano is Hawaii’s highest point and is known as one of the best places in the world to view astronomical events. The 13 different telescopes built there by 11 different countries is testament to this.
While McCarthy, who has shot other occultations in the past, is well prepared for this sort of event, what he didn’t count on was his health nearly spoiling his plans.
“This has always been a bucket list shot for me, and it nearly didn’t happen,” McCarthy told PetaPixel. “Two days before the event, I got the flu, and going up to the thinner air of Mauna Kea meant risking a much more serious illness.”
Not one to let anything get in the way of his photography, McCarthy soldiered on and got the shot he was after, even if it ended up making his flu worse. He hopes to return to the location another time when he’s feeling better and when he can take better advantage its dark skies, high elevation, and dry environment.
Ill or not, McCarthy was still able to capture an impressive image. After taking 200,000 photos he was able to pull together at 107-panel mosaic that he calls Saturn’s Ingress. Captured with amazing clarity, it’s possible to zoom in and still see Saturn and its trademark rings peering out from behind the Moon.
If you love McCarthy’s image and want to hang it in your home, he’s offering a limited-edition print via his website. Scroll down to see the uncropped version of Saturn’s Ingress, as well as extra footage and a behind-the-scenes look at his setup.
Astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy traveled to Hawaii’s Mauna Kea to photograph the September 17 lunar occultation of Saturn.
Here is McCarthy’s uncropped view of this phenomenal event.
This raw footage—taken with an infrared filter—shows Saturn as it emerges from behind the Moon.
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Check out this behind-the-scenes look at McCarthy’s adventure to Mauna Kea.
Here’s the highly requested behind-the-scenes of my latest photo of Saturn as it was covered by the moon, including live telescope views and shots of my setup. pic.twitter.com/yUFFmpM5Dv
— Andrew McCarthy (@AJamesMcCarthy) September 22, 2024