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Mars Forms Triangle With Moon And Bright Star Tuesday
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This sky map shows the location of Mars, the moon and the bright star Regulus at 9 p.m. ET on April 3, 2012 to observers at mid-northern latitudes. CREDIT: Starry Night |
As the evening twilight deepens around 8:30 p.m. local time Tuesday night (April 3), check out the southeast sky. Weather permitting, a waxing gibbous moon will be shining bright, but it won't be alone.
Situated well above the moon will be two bright "stars." I've placed the word stars in quote marks, because one of those stars is in reality a planet: the so-called Red Planet, Mars.
The planet will form a cosmic triangle with the moon, Mars and bright star Regulus. The arrangement can be seen in the sky map of Mars accompanying this planet viewing guide.
Fading Mars
A month ago, Mars came to opposition with the sun and two days later arrived at its closest point to the Earth in 2012, a distance of 62.6 million miles (100.7 million kilometers). Since then, Mars has been receding from us and correspondingly has fade.
