‘You don’t want to miss this’: How to view the lunar occultation of Mars.
SALT LAKE CITY — Look to the skies this week to witness the occult — a lunar occultation of the planet Mars, that is.
Beginning Wednesday night, the moon will slowly inch up towards Mars, until about 7:40 pm, when it will overtake the red planet, completely covering it for about 70 minutes, until Mars reappears on the other side.
To stay up to date with latest top stories, make sure to subscribe to this YouTube channel by clicking the button above this video!
No nightmare before Christmas, this is a novel astronomical event accessible to stargazers of all abilities.
It’s a sight that will be visible to naked-eye stargazers since Mars is at its brightest in its roughly 26-month rendezvous cycle with Earth and you can’t miss the nearly-full moon.
The view gets even better if you can view the visible obstruction with binoculars or a telescope.
Kevin Poe, the owner and operator of Dark Ranger Telescope Tours hopes Utahns won’t fear the event’s eerie name and will venture out to take a look.
Foreign [Music] You don't want to miss this is how to View the lunar occultation of Mars Salt Lake City look to the skies this week to Witness the occult a lunar occultation Of the planet Mars that is beginning Wednesday night the moon will slowly Inch up towards Mars until about 7 40 PM When it will overtake the red planet Completely covering it for about 70 Minutes until Mars reappears on the Other side to stay up to date with Latest top stories make sure to Subscribe to this YouTube channel by Clicking the button above this video no Nightmare Before Christmas this is a Novel astronomical event accessible to Stargazers of all abilities it's a site That will be visible to naked iced Argazers since Mars is at its brightest In its roughly 26-month Rendezvous cycle With Earth and you can't miss the nearly Full moon The View gets even better if You can view the visible obstruction With binoculars or a telescope Kevin Poe The owner and operator of Dark Ranger Telescope tours hopes udines won't fear The event's Eerie name and will venture Out to take a look whatever you do don't Hide in your basement event because you Don't want to miss this he said viewing The celestial Vanishing act a lunar Occultation according to the
International occultation timing Association occurs when the moon passes In front of another Heavenly object University of Utah astronomer Paul Ricketts adds that this happens due to The motion of the Moon if you look close Enough on any night you can see the Position of the moon change relative to The Stars around it with this motion the Moon will slip in front of Mars Wednesday night the exact time of the Occultation varies based on location According to earthsky.org in Utah this Amounts to a difference of a few minutes Per in the sky.org for example it will Be visible from 7 41 pm to 8 46 p.m in Salt Lake City or from 7 42 P.M to 8 50 P.m in Logan the timing is important Ricketts said that if you get there late You will miss The Disappearance and need To wait an hour for the reappearance While you can see this with your naked Eye you won't be able to view the Contact Mars makes with the moon without The aid of large binoculars or a Telescope Ricketts added yet this should Not deter anyone from taking a gander You can go literally to your backyard to See it because the moon and Mars are two Very bright objects he said Poe who will Be at his Observatory that is hosting a Watch party Wednesday evening said that At his position in southern Utah Mars Will enter an exit at about the center
Of the moon what will this event look Like through binoculars or a telescope a Rendering of the Moon occultation of Mars on December 7th photo Ryan boys Stellarium 0.15.0 one of the best ways to describe An occultation is to call it a pimple he Said drawing an analogy from Dermatology What you'll see is the moon will have a Bright red orange pimple which Eventually moves behind the Moon instead Of popping he continued the Mars pimple Will recede into the surface of the Moon As it disappears a rare event lunar Occultations of various Heavenly Bodies Happen fairly often yet a Mars Occultation visible in Utah is rare Ricketts said he believes only a couple Have happened in Utah in the past few Decades and Poe said that Utah won't Have another of this kind until 2059. The moon will cut in front of Mars once Again on January 30th 2023 however the Full occultation will just barely Miss Utah according to in the sky.org poe Expects to see this one from his vantage Point near Bryce Canyon a grazing Occultation where Mars skirts the edge Of the Moon he sees a full occultation And grazing occultation happening in the Same place during a short period of time Three lunar cycles as even rarer Photographing the occultation as Possible said Ricketts even with a phone
Placed up to a telescope it's just a Simple observation this time something Easy to look at he said pop outside and Watch until you see Mars pop away behind The Moon Foreign [Music]
