If you've been following Mars in the run-up to its opposition on 16 January 2025, you'll be aware that it's looking wonderfully bright in the night sky.
On 13 January 2025, a rare lunar occultation of Mars was visible to US stargazers, making the Red Planet seem to disappear behind the Moon, before reappearing out the other side.
This lunar occultation of Mars was visible from all of the continental US (just!), but not visible from Europe.
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The lunar occultation occurred on 13 January 2025 the best observing strategy being to locate the bright full Moon, identify bright Mars to the east of it, and keep watching.
Different locations within the US experienced the event at different times due to lunar parallax.
This means that, because Earth is close to the Moon, there is be a shift in Mars's position relative to the Moon in the night sky, depending on where you're observing from.
This is why, for example, the event was visible in the USA, whereas in Europe, Mars would get close to the Moon, but not disappear behind it.
Observing a lunar occultation of Mars with binoculars gives a better view of the Red Planet disappearing behind the Moon: a full Moon can be very bright!
Wolf Moon explained
This lunar occultation of Mars occurred during a bright full Moon, the first full Moon of 2025, to be exact.
It's known by some as the 'Wolf Moon', because wolves don't hibernate during winter, and so they're one of the few animals active in the wild at this time of year.
Each month's full Moon nickname reflects events occurring in nature at the time of year in question, and January's full Moon has become known as the Wolf Moon.
Full Moon nicknames are just that, however: they're informal nicknames that don't reflect how the Moon will look or behave.
If you observed or photographed the lunar occultation of Mars on 13 January 2025, share your experiences and images with us by emailing contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com.
Thanks to Pete Lawrence for providing the dates and timings, and for producing the chart included here.
