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Look up tonight (March 11) after sunset to watch Mars approach the crescent moon.
The ascending crescent moon will sweep just south of the red planet, across the constellation of Aries and towards the constellation of Taurus, and will settle to the western horizon just before midnight.
The two objects came closer this morning when they were under the horizon for observers in the United States. The pair shared the same right ascension – the celestial equivalent in longitude – at 8:10 am EDT (12:10 GMT), at 5 days. ancient moon rose to about 5.5 degrees south of the red planet, according to the skywatching website In-The-Sky.org.
Related: When, where and how to see the planets in the 2019 night sky
If you are in New York, you will be able to see the Moon and Mars from 19:12. EDT. From New York, the pair will be visible at 49 degrees above the southwest horizon, with Mars at 7 degrees to the right of the moon, or about a binocular field to the right of our natural satellite. The couple will be together in the sky at dusk until shortly before midnight. The couple will rest in the constellation of Aries, with the moon at magnitude -10.9 and Mars at magnitude 1.3.
Mars and the moon will be visible to the naked eye, but do not try to take out the telescope or even the binoculars for this conjunction tonight unless you want it take a closer look at the moon. The pair will be too far away to fit into the field of view of either device.
Once the moon passes through Mars, the rocky satellite will continue to circle the Earth. Tomorrow (March 12), the moon will approach the red star Aldebaran and the Pileiades star cluster, according to the skywatching website EarthSky.org. Aldebaran and the Pleiades will be visible near the Moon and Mars, in the constellation of the bull. In Taurus, Aldebaran Mark the bull's eye and Pleiades is the shoulder of the bull.
Mars takes about two years to tour the sun, compared to a year on Earth, but every other year, Mars is a little brighter in the night sky. It turns out that 2019 is a year off, where Mars appears a little darker. He is still visible, but he will not be as bright in the sky as Aldebaran. So, although Mars and the "Bull's Eye" are both reddish in color, the star will be brighter than Mars, which will facilitate the separation of the two.
Follow Chelsea Gohd on Twitter @chelsea_gohd. Follow us on twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook
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