Within the hours following sundown on Saturday (June 28), the waxing crescent moon will line up with Mars and the brilliant star Regulus above the western horizon — earlier than swiftly slipping out of view.
Stargazers within the U.S. will discover the slender type of the crescent moon roughly 20 levels above the western horizon proper at sundown on Saturday. The next hour will see Mars and the brilliant star Regulus line as much as the higher left of the lunar disk, changing into seen as nightfall offers method to the approaching evening.
The trio will comply with the solar beneath the horizon a mere three hours later, so you should definitely catch the celestial alignment earlier than it disappears!
The next evening, Sunday (June 29), will see the waxing moon leap to the decrease proper of Mars, with its crescent type showing to comb beneath the Purple Planet. The moon and Mars will go inside 1 diploma of each other earlier than slipping beneath the western horizon.
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Some well-positioned viewers will witness the moon go immediately in entrance of Mars, blocking the planet from view, in response to stargazing web site in-the-sky.org. This phenomenon is called an “occultation” and is barely doable due to the moon’s relative proximity to us, which might make its place shift by round 2 levels within the evening sky relying on the place you are viewing it from on Earth.
The lunar occultation of Mars can be seen from components of Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Clipperton Island within the hours following 6:57 p.m. EDT (22:57 GMT) on June 29.
Evening sky lovers seeking to seize the following large celestial alignment ought to take a look at our guides to one of the best cameras and lenses for astrophotography out there in 2025. These hoping to get a more in-depth view of the cosmos must also learn our roundup of the highest telescopes and binoculars with which to discover the evening sky.
Editor’s Observe: For those who seize an image of the moon with Regulus and Mars and wish to share it with Area.com’s readers, then please ship your picture(s), feedback, and your identify and site to spacephotos@area.com.
