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THE first full moon of the year, known as the Wolf Moon, will be visible alongside Mars tonight.
Stargazers are encouraged to brave the cold once night falls on 13 January to catch the display.
A Blood Moon and Mars mirroring on Lake Chiemsee, Bavaria, Germany in 2018[/caption]
If it’s a clear night, a red ‘star’ will be visible just below and to the left of the Moon – this is the planet Mars.
The Red Planet will be at its biggest and brightest in the past two years.
It will glow at a magnitude of -1.3, just slightly dimmer than the brightest star in the sky – Sirius.
Mars and the Moon will move closer together throughout the night.
The Moon will temporarily hide the Red Planet from view – but only for about an hour.
The best time to go outside will be around 7:30pm UTC.
The Wolf Moon reaches peak illumination at roughly 10:25pm GMT (5:25pm EST).
At this time, the glare of moonshine might obscure the view of Mars.
The lunar disk is expected to take on a muted orange colour – though it will not be one of Earth’s famed Blood Moons.
All you need to know about planets in our solar system
Our solar system is made up of nine planets with Earth the third closest to the Sun. But each planet has its own quirks, so find out more about them all…
- How old is Earth? Plus other facts on our planet
- How many moons does Mercury have?
- What colour is Venus?
- How far away is Mars to Earth? And other facts on the red planet
- How big is Jupiter?
- How many moons does Saturn have?
- Does Uranus have rings?
- How many moons does Neptune have?
- How big is Pluto?
- How hot is the Sun?
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