After the moon’s appearance with Jupiter and Venus last week, it is the turn of Mars to receive a visit from our nearest celestial neighbour. It is a week since new moon and Earth’s natural satellite will be 47%-illuminated on 28 March, and 2.3 degrees – or roughly five lunar diameters – away from the red planet, as seen in the skies from Earth.
The chart shows the view looking southwest from London at 8pm BST on 28 March. Both the moon and Mars will be high in the sky, and unmistakable. If you saw the conjunction a few weeks ago between the moon and Antares, remember how that star shines with a ruby-red appearance, and contrast it with the baleful glow of Mars. Somehow, the planet feels altogether more forbidding.
Mars is fading quite fast as the distance between it and Earth continues to lengthen. Having started the month in Taurus, the bull, the planet has moved in Gemini, the twins, just above Orion, the hunter. From southern hemisphere locations such as Cape Town, South Africa, or Sydney, Australia, the moon and Mars will be found by looking to the northern sky soon after sunset.
