March 28, 2023 to see “The Approach of Mars and the Moon” | sorae Portal site to space

On the night of March 28, 2023, Mars and the Moon can be seen shining side by side in the western sky. This is the “approach of Mars and the Moon.”

Mars will be in opposition on December 8, 2022.（※1）It was very bright at -2.0, but the brightness gradually decreased after discounting. However, until March 28th, Mars has a moderate brightness of 0.9 magnitude, and the vague pink glow that differs from the fixed stars is impressive.

On the other hand, the Moon is half-moon shaped and slightly cracked. Mars and Moon elongation on March 28th（※2）2 degrees, 17 minutes, and approaches a distance of 4.5 full moons.

*1 Opposition: the moment when a celestial body in the solar system becomes the side opposite the sun as seen from Earth. Objects before and after the opposition get brighter and can be seen throughout the night.
*2 Elongation: The angular distance between two celestial bodies seen from the observation point on the celestial sphere.

Viewed from Earth, it is not uncommon for the Moon and Mars to come close to each other, and this happens about once a month. The following is a table of recent approaches to Mars and the Moon:

[▲ جدول يوضح اقتراب المريخ والقمر (Credit: sorae editor department)]

The Moon is often seen approaching not only Mars, but also other planets such as Venus and Jupiter. This is because the planets and the Moon follow roughly the same path when viewed from Earth.

When the sun is seen from Earth, it takes one year to follow a fixed path on the celestial sphere. This is called the “ecliptic”. Likewise, the moon passes through a fixed path on the celestial sphere over the course of a month. This is called the “white way”. The white path is slightly inclined to the ecliptic, but they are almost identical. Therefore, the moon appears to pass close to the ecliptic.

In addition, the orbits of the planets in the solar system, including the Earth, are almost on the same level. Therefore, from Earth, the orbits of the planets almost overlap in the near-ecliptic range.

In this way, the sun, moon, and planets pass through the ecliptic or paths close to the ecliptic when seen from Earth, so there are many opportunities to get close to celestial bodies. If the moon and the planets were moving in different paths around the celestial sphere, the approach would be a very rare phenomenon.

The moon is particularly fast, completing one cycle in about a month. On the other hand, Mars takes more than two years to complete one orbit. The Moon will overtake Mars about once a month, so a close approach will happen every time.

However, just because they come around once a month doesn’t mean you can see them every time.

As you can see from the table above, the time zone in which it is easy to see the approach of Mars and the Moon is gradually progressing. We can see it approaching at night now, but in a few months, when it approaches during the day, the sun will be so bright that we won’t be able to see it.

Also, after the closest approach to the Earth, the brightness of Mars itself gradually increases, and the nights become shorter and the days get longer with the advent of summer, so it will be difficult to see the approach of the Moon and Mars. it will be

Mars, which shone in the starry sky from early autumn last year to spring this year, will also say goodbye for a while.

If you think of it this way, the closeness of the Moon and Mars, which actually happens a lot, might sound special.

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• Image credit: Sorae Editorial Department
• Ref: Tenmon Nenkan 2022 / Tenmon Nenkan 2022 Modified by Tenmon Nenkan Seibundo Shinkosha Editorial Committee
• New year page
• National Astronomical Observatory of Japan The approach of the moon to Mars (March 2023)

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