We had a tripleheader last week. At its closest point to Earth, Mars was at opposition. The moon was in front of Mars on December 7th and 8th. The event was captured by our Astrophotographer friends.
Alan Dyer, an amateur astronomer and photographer who lives in Canada, created a picture of the night's activities from observations he made from his home. It was the Moon that was passing in front of Mars, not the other way around. To keep the Moon more or less stationary on the frame, I set the telescope mount to track the Moon at its rate of motion against the background stars and Mars.
There are some great views from all over the world.
Andrew McCarthy's view from Arizona is amazing.
This is the moment Mars peeked out from behind our moon after being hidden for an hour. This shot was captured using my largest telescope and a special high-speed camera. Seeing another planet rising on the horizon of our moon was such a surreal experience. pic.twitter.com/8IctbVXuUM
— Andrew McCarthy (@AJamesMcCarthy) December 8, 2022
The view from England is stunningly clear.
Lunar occultation of Mars, as seen from East Devon. Proper, face-numbingly cold out, but so glad I made the effort to see this. Look closely and you'll see Mars as a tiny red dot on the lower right side of the Moon. Highlights just how far away Mars really is. pic.twitter.com/DsZRwKjteU
— Kerrie Ann Gardner (@KerrieDoodles) December 8, 2022
There are more great images and videos on this page.
It cleared here in Dublin just in time to see the Mars occultation. This view is a frame from a video I took on my iPhone thru an 8-inch Dobsonian belonging to @MichaelCreary – Mick got some great views with his CPC-11. pic.twitter.com/jdY6MDYcQC
— John Flannery (@theskybyeye) December 8, 2022
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