At the start of every year, stargazers flip through their calendars and mark down the dates of big astronomy events ranging from eclipses to planetary alignments. Did you know that this month, Moon and Mars will “hook up” just before sunrise?
Before daybreak on Friday, August 19, our earthly Moon will meet up with the planet Mars and the two will appear extremely close together. It’s referred to in astronomy circles as “the conjunction of the Moon and Mars.” You know, just two planetary dudes, hangin’ out.
The Moon and Mars will share the same right ascension, with the Moon passing 2°41′ to the north of Mars. The Moon will be at mag -11.7, and Mars at mag 0.0, both in the constellation Taurus. The Moon will be 22 days old. At around the same time, the two objects will also make a close approach, technically called an appulse.
The duo will shine in the eastern sky above the constellation Orion. For those of you keeping track, get your binoculars ready: Jupiter will also be visible in the same region of the sky above and to the right of Mars and the moon.
Why binoculars? Well, the pair will be too widely separated to fit within the field of view of a telescope, but will be visible to the naked eye or through a pair of binoculars.
The celestial pairing will once again be side-by-side in the early hours of Saturday, August 20. However, they will not appear as close as the night prior.
—
Photo Credit: Giado / Shutterstock.com