UPDATE: Photographs of the Moon - Mars Occultation appear at the bottom of this page
Astro Alert
Issued: December 7, 2022
Tonight, the Full Moon will pass in front of Mars and block it from view for about an hour. Currently, Mars is very easy to spot in the eastern sky, just after sunset, because it just happens to be at opposition - something that only happens once every 26 months. When a planet is at opposition, the distance between that planet and Earth is at a minimum and therefore the planet is at its brightest. Mars currently looks like a very bright red "star" in the eastern sky during the early evening hours. However, you should not confuse it with Aldebaran, which actually is a bright red (orangey-red) star in the same part of the sky. Aldebaran is the brightest star in the constellation of Taurus - The Bull. However, Mars is actually brighter than Aldebaran at this time, due to the proximity of Mars.
Below you will find two images from EarthSky.org showing the eastern sky shortly after sunset. The image on the left shows the sky on December 6 and the image on the right shows the sky on December 7. As you will see, from one night to the next, the Moon moves from a spot near the Pleiades star cluster, which is located in Taurus, towards Mars. On the night of December 7, it will actually cover up Mars for about an hour. This will occur from approximately 7:58 PM to 9:02 PM (Mountain Standard Time) as seen from Calgary, Alberta.
Issued: December 7, 2022
Tonight, the Full Moon will pass in front of Mars and block it from view for about an hour. Currently, Mars is very easy to spot in the eastern sky, just after sunset, because it just happens to be at opposition - something that only happens once every 26 months. When a planet is at opposition, the distance between that planet and Earth is at a minimum and therefore the planet is at its brightest. Mars currently looks like a very bright red "star" in the eastern sky during the early evening hours. However, you should not confuse it with Aldebaran, which actually is a bright red (orangey-red) star in the same part of the sky. Aldebaran is the brightest star in the constellation of Taurus - The Bull. However, Mars is actually brighter than Aldebaran at this time, due to the proximity of Mars.
Below you will find two images from EarthSky.org showing the eastern sky shortly after sunset. The image on the left shows the sky on December 6 and the image on the right shows the sky on December 7. As you will see, from one night to the next, the Moon moves from a spot near the Pleiades star cluster, which is located in Taurus, towards Mars. On the night of December 7, it will actually cover up Mars for about an hour. This will occur from approximately 7:58 PM to 9:02 PM (Mountain Standard Time) as seen from Calgary, Alberta.
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Below you will find two videos that were created by James Durbano using Starry Night Pro software. The first video gives you the "big picture" of this celestial event, from 4:30 PM to 10:31 PM (MST) as seen from Calgary, Alberta. Please look for the clock in the top left corner and also notice that you can clearly see the Moon and Mars shortly after moonrise, but not long after that they are too close to be seen as separate objects. Luckily, the second video shows a close-up view of this celestial event.
This video is downloadable. Try right-clicking and choose "Download Video As..." to download. You may have to watch the video before you can download it.
In the second video, you can more clearly see the clock and you have a better view of the Moon and Mars. This view is similar to what you would have if you viewed this celestial event with binoculars or a small telescope at low magnification. Once again, this video is the way this celestial event will appear as seen from Calgary, Alberta. The video starts at 7:05 PM and goes until 9:55 PM. As you will see, Mars is on the limb of the Moon (about to disappear) at 7:58 PM and it reappears on the other side of the Moon at about 9:02 PM.
This video is downloadable. Try right-clicking and choose "Download Video As..." to download. You may have to watch the video before you can download it.
Please note that this video was created by "locking" the Moon in position and therefore it looks like Mars is slowly creeping towards the Moon. However, what is actually happening is the Moon is moving rather quickly (relatively speaking) in its orbit around the Earth and it is moving toward Mars, eventually covering it up, and then as it continues to move (around the Earth) it is then seen to be moving away from Mars. Yes, technically speaking, Mars is moving too - it's revolving around the Sun - but most of the movement seen during this brief Moon - Mars encounter is the result of the rather speedy Moon.
UPDATE: Here are BEFORE and AFTER photographs of the Moon - Mars Occultation.
This photograph was captured at 7:53 PM and it shows the Moon and Mars just 5 minutes before the beginning of the occultation.
Image Credit: James Durbano
Image Credit: James Durbano
This photograph was captured at 9:06 PM and it shows the Moon and Mars just 4 minutes after the occultation ended.
Image Credit: James Durbano
Image Credit: James Durbano
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