Mars Meets Moon December 23rd

On the evening of December 23 watch for a close pairing of the moon with Mars.  Depending on your location you may even see Mars disappear behind the moon for a few minutes.   When the moon passes in front of a planet or star we call this an "occultation."  In the Calgary and Edmonton area of Alberta, Mars will disappear behind the moon at about 6:50 PM.  From Calgary Mars will remain hidden for only about 10 minutes while those in Edmonton will be missing Mars from their skies for 20 minutes and those in Vancouver, B.C. will miss Mars for about 25 minutes.

If you draw a line on a map from Portland, Oregon through Calgary, Alberta and on through Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, those to the north and west of that line will witness the disappearance of Mars while those south and east of that line will see a "grazing" of Mars by the moon.

 If you are giving a telescope or binoculars for Christmas, you may want to give the gift a couple of days early so this event can be enjoyed close up.   You can also take simple digital photos of the moon and Mars by holding the digital camera to the eyepiece of a telescope.   Be sure to turn the flash to "off" and compose the photo on the screen of your digital camera.  Those with a digital SLR have the option of taking "prime focus" photos by attaching the telescope directly to the camera.

 With this event occuring in early evening, you can catch a special view of the heavens and continue with holiday celebrations into the evening.   Just pray for clear skies as the timing of this occulation in the early evening in full darkness is rare.