On December 7 the Moon Will Photobomb Mars

The moon will pass in front of Mars, blocking it from view, on December 7, 2022, in a large portion of the U.S.

An occultation is an event that happens once or twice a year. You need to be in the right place at the right time to view a solar eclipse. There will be a Martian eclipse.

You don't need any special equipment to look at your eyes. The drama will build as the moon slowly approaches Mars, climaxing in the moment when the edge of our satellite sweeps over the planet, causing it to fade away and finally wink out. It is still enjoyable to watch without optical aid.

In the past, I have seen stars by the moon and even one in which our natural satellite passed right in front of Venus. I am looking forward to seeing the moon and Mars together.

The map on the IOTA website shows where the event will be seen.

Everyone in the path can see what's happening. It happens when the moon rises or sets, so it will be hard to see. Most of the U.S., Canada and Europe will see the event. Universal time is used on the IOTA map. The occultation occurs in the morning of December 8 in UT, but in the evening of the same day in the U.S.

Depending on where you are, the exact time of the event can be different. We see the moon differently than we see Mars. When you hold your thumb out at arm's length and look at it with just your right eye, with your left eye closed, and then look with the right one closed, your thumb appears to jump back and forth, compared with more distant objects, because you're holding it out Calculating the moon's relative position in the sky can be done using this method.

There is a list of event times on the IOTA page. You should look for one near you to know when it will happen. Your exact location can change the exact timing. If you want to be as precise as possible, use some planetarium software. You can find a list of many apps for mobile devices on Stellarium, a free website. When the occultation occurs for you, they can give you a good number.

How does this work on a physical level?

All of the sun's planets are in the same plane. We can see the ecliptic because we are in that plane. The planets are close to the ellipse. At an angle of about five degrees, the moon has an elliptical shape. The moon crosses the ecliptic twice as it circles the Earth every 29 days. Imagine two hula hoops with one inside and the other outside. There are two places where they cross. The moon passes any given planet in the sky once a month, but the two usually miss each other by a few degrees.

Sometimes a planet will be in the sky where the moon crosses the ecliptic. An eclipse will occur if the moon is at the same time as the sun.

This is RIGHT NOW. @NASA_Orion is looking back at Earth and the Moon from distant retrograde orbit. Watch the #Artemis I livestream: https://t.co/Qx1QFUdD08 pic.twitter.com/zMTorYQvjS

— NASA (@NASA) November 28, 2022

On November 28, 2022, NASA's Artemis I mission captured an image of our planet "setting" behind the moon: a lunar occultation. The credit is given to NASA.

The moon and Mars are very close together in the sky after the sun goes down. In an hour, the moon moves by about half a degree. The two are very close before the event. As the event goes on, the moon and Mars get closer together, until the moon starts to slide across the planet's disk.

It will take about 30 to 45 seconds for the moon to cover Mars. Mars will fade from view in less than a minute after the two kiss.

Depending on where you are, it could take as little as an hour for Mars to reappear on the other side of the moon.

The circumstances for this event are extraordinary. The moon will be silvery in the sky. Mars is at an opposition. Earth catches up to and laps Mars around the sun, like a race car on an inside track passing a slower car on the outside. The event name refers to the fact that Mars and the sun are on opposite sides of the sky. Mars will be as close to Earth as it gets for two years. This means that the Red Planet is at its best and largest.

If you are an avid sky watcher, you might have seen Mars in the evening sky, a bright star that shines in the east after sunset. It has an orange hue because most of the surface is covered in iron rich dust. The ancient Greeks and Romans believed in a god of war. The eye is glowing down at us from the sky. That eye will look at us.

Scientific use of occultations is possible. The characteristics of a distant asteroid can be deduced. Observers at different latitudes are able to observe the star and the asteroid at the same time.

Many exoplanets have been found using the same method. If we see an exoplanet's edge on, it will pass in front of its host star and create a mini eclipse. The size of the planet can be found by looking at the dim star. It is possible to determine the planet's atmospheric composition in some instances. The transit method was used to find most of the exoplanets.

NASA and other space agencies have their own eyes on the moon right now. The Artemis I mission sent the space capsule into a loop around our natural satellite and it will return to Earth in December. The next mission will have people on board to go to the moon. The first boot prints to be left on the moon since 1972 are planned for the third.

NASA wants to send humans to Mars in the future. Both worlds have a lot of space probes sitting on them. You will see a metaphor for our future in space when the moon covers Mars.

Mars is waiting for us and the moon is large.