West Coast: Step Out and See the Moon Rise Next to Mars

A few days ago I provided a blog post with key astronomical events for the month. The rising of a “full mars”, directly at opposition from the sun and fully lit as viewed form the earth, occurred over the weekend. Tonight however you get a double treat: The nearly-full moon will rise just in time to be in the sky for sunset, and as the sky darkens you’ll see the still-bright Mars very close to it.

Here on the West Coast I’m looking at a 5:40 moon set vs. the sun setting at 5:56, so the moon will have some time to clear the horizon before the sunset color gets most intense. Keep shooting though, since Mars will become more noticeable as the sky darkens further. The StarWalk app shows Mars just to the left and above the moon.

Good luck, and happy shooting!