Today, January 30, the moon will be eclipsing Mars and you can watch it from your home in a free telescope webcast. How will the moon eclipse Mars? How can you watch it online and offline? Continue reading to find out.
How will the moon eclipse Mars?
Astronomers earlier announced the fascinating astronomical event that will be occurring today, Monday (Jan. 30). During this event, Mars will move behind the moon and disappear from our view. Astronomers refer to this astronomical event as a lunar occultation. Interestingly, the last lunar occultation occurred on December 7, 2022.
During that event, skywatchers across the world took several fascinating images of the moon eclipsing Mars. Hence, you should endeavor to participate in tonight’s astronomical event to capture interesting and stunning photos of the moon and Mars.
How to Watch the moon eclipse Mars Offline
Skywatchers across the world may not observe the lunar occultation at the same time. However, if you live in the Southernmost United States which is from California to Florida, you should be able to observe the moon eclipse Mars over earth’s night sky starting from 8:30 p.m. PST.
Skywatchers living in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America should be expecting the astronomical event to occur at the same time as their colleagues in the southernmost United States. To help skywatchers find the perfect timing to observe the astronomical event, veteran skywatcher Joe Rao has provided a list of great viewing times which you can see on Space.com.
How to watch the moon eclipse Mars Online
If you live outside the viewing region of this astronomical event, you can also participate in observing the astronomical event by joining a free online Livestream which will be hosted by the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. You can watch it on the observatory’s website or visit its YouTube channel to stay connected with other skywatchers across the globe.
Astronomers at Griffith Observatory will be starting the Livestream on Monday (Jan.30) at 11:00 p.m. EST (0400 GMT on Jan. 31). It will last for two hours during which the observatory will closely study how the moon is eclipsing Mars. So what should be expecting to see during Livestream? Griffith Observatory’s Livestream will show Mars disappearing behind the moon around 11:36 p.m. EST on Jan. 30 (0436 GMT on Jan. 31) and suddenly reappear at 12:30 a.m. EST on Jan. 31 (0530 GMT on Jan. 31).
This implies that Mars will reappear nearly an hour after disappearing behind the moon. During the last lunar occultation of Mars which occurred on Dec. 7, 2022, Griffith Observatory also live-streamed it and captured fascinating footage of the moon and Mars. If you participated in that last lunar occultation of Mars, you should have a clue of what to expect tonight from the Observatory’s Livestream.
Hence, if you live in a region outside the viewing area, you should worry less as Griffith Observatory will give you the best view of the astronomical event. If you live in the viewing area, and you don’t have a telescope, you should consider purchasing any of these telescopes to capture the best view of the lunar occultation of Mars tonight.
Conclusion
The lunar occultation of Mars is one of the most interesting astronomical events every skywatcher across the world will love to watch. As you capture tonight’s view, you can also share the outcome of your unique images with Future Space World. We will love to repost your fascinating images and promote your skywatching skills to the world. We are wishing you a happy skywatching moment of the lunar occultation tonight.
