The Moon blocking out Mars!

Watch the sky on December 7th from 7:30p to 8:45p (Mountian Time, in Colorado) to see Mars go behind the moon and come out the other side! this rare alignment will be visible across most of the US, all of Canada and in most of Europe

This rare Eclipse of mars is called an Occultation and can be used to study the moon! If you're lucky enough to see this in a telescope you will see mars peeking thru valleys and topography on the moon as the moon blocks it out and mars is right on the edge of the disk of the moon.

The folks at the International Occultation Timing Association (IOTA) have a map on their site that shows where and when the event will be visible. http://www.lunar-occultations.com/iota/planets/1208mars.htm

In the US/Canada the occultation of Mars will happen on the night of December 7th around 7:30p Mountian Time (the graphic says Dec 8th because it is using Universal Time)

To learn more about Mars and why it's so bright this year read my previous blog post here: https://www.astrotours.org/post/mars-returns

Keep up to date with things happening in the sky like this sign up for my news letter here: https://www.astrotours.org/contact

To see Mars up close in a telescope book a tour here: AstroTours.org/booking