Explanation:
The Full Moon and a brilliant, ruddy Mars
will share
the sky tonight.
Skygazers can easily
enjoy the celestial pairing
as the two are
separated by
a degree or even less.
In fact, seen from parts of northern North America and
Europe, the Moon will actually
occult (pass in front of) the Red Planet.
Mars is so bright because it is
near opposition, opposite the Sun in Earth's sky and
near its closest approach to planet Earth.
But Mars is not nearly as bright as the
Moon, also opposite the Sun tonight.
In this striking preview of tonight's sky show, backyard
astronomer John Harms was able to photograph an almost Full Moon
near Mars last month.
His simple, single exposure relied on clouds
to block some of the overwhelming
moonlight.
APOD presents: Astronomy Pictures of the Year for 2007
