Catch the Moon Hide Mars: A Winter Night Sky Show

Are you ready for a celestial treat? Tonight, the Moon is going to play a cosmic game of hide and seek with Mars. This rare event, called an occultation, happens when the Moon covers a planet from our view. On January 13, 2025, the nearly full Wolf Moon will temporarily block our view of Mars. Why is this a big deal? Well, Mars only gets this close to the Moon about every 14 years! The Moon will be at its full phase, known as the Wolf Moon, on January 13. This means it will be directly opposite the Sun in the sky. Mars is also opposite to the Sun, but it will be at its closest point to Earth on January 15. On the big night, the Moon and Mars will be close enough that the Moon will hide Mars from our view for a while. If you live in the contiguous United States or central and eastern Canada, you're in luck! That's where the occultation will be visible. Mars will be at its brightest because it's near opposition. It will be about as bright as Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. But don't expect to see Mars with the naked eye when it's near the Moon. The Moon is going to be about 40, 000 times brighter than Mars! You'll need binoculars or a telescope to see Mars disappear and reappear. Don't worry if you miss the exact moment of the occultation. Before and after the event, Mars will be easy to spot with the naked eye. It will be a bright orange-yellow light near the Moon. Some people might even call the police or local planetariums, thinking they've seen a UFO! The occultation won't happen instantly like it does with stars. Mars is too big to just blink out. It will take anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute for the Moon to completely cover Mars. Some places, like Port Angeles, Washington, will see a partial occultation where Mars skims the edge of the Moon. If you want to know the exact times when Mars will disappear and reappear where you live, check out the International Occultation Timers Association's website. They have a table and a map showing the specific times for over 600 locations in North America and Africa. The next chance to see Mars and the Moon play this game won't be until February 5, 2042. So, make sure to catch this show while you can! Mars oppositions happen about every 2 years, but they're not always this close. Mark your calendars for September 2035 when Mars will be even closer to Earth.