The Red Planet will have a close conjunction with the Moon tonight as it races towards opposition.
As the ‘Wolf Moon’ – the first full Moon of 2025 – shines bright in the sky, Mars will inch closer towards it before ‘skimming’ the celestial body in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Stargazers are keeping fingers crossed that skies will clear in time to see Mars interact with the Moon. Here’s what you need to know about tonight’s sky.
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When will Mars skim the Moon?
If you step outside at around 7.30 pm UK time tonight (13 January), you will see the full ‘Wolf Moon’ rising in the East. The moon is expected to reach its peak at 10.26 pm UK time.
Just below and to the left of the Moon will be a red ‘star’, which is actually the Red Planet, also known as Mars.
Mars and the Moon will draw closer together, before the Red Planet skims the Northern edge of the lunar disc in the early hours of Tuesday morning (14 January), according to BBC Sky at Night Magazine.
If you’re one of the lucky ones in the US or West Africa, you will be able to see the highly-anticipated ‘Wolf Moon’ lunar occultation of Mars at 8.44 p.m. EST.
The Moon will rise to occult Mars, meaning the Red Planet will be eclipsed by and vanish behind the ‘Wolf Moon’. Mars will disappear behind the Moon for around four hours.
Sadly, stargazers in the UK will not be able to witness the Moon blocking Mars because we’re not in the correct alignment.
We will, however, see the two celestial bodies come close together in the sky. Charts show that you should see Mars ‘skim’ the Moon in the west pre-dawn sky from London at 4 am UK time on 14 January, according to The Guardian’s Starwatch.
Mars and the Moon will move close together in the night sky -Credit:Getty Images
A rare opportunity to view the Red Planet
Mars is also having a particularly special month as it reaches opposition this week, shining at its biggest and brightest for more than two years.
Opposition means the planet is opposite the Sun in the sky, meaning Mars will appear big and bright: at its best for viewing.
Mars will reach opposition at 3 am UK time on 16 January 2025. Although this happens about every two years, NASA says this year it will be closer than average.
The planet was closest to Earth at 2 pm GMT yesterday (12 January) 5.3 light-minutes away at a distance of 0.642 astronomical units (96,084,099 kilometers).
The first full Moon of 2025
If you’re not keen to stay up until the early hours to wait for Mars, the full Moon will be visible from around 7.30 pm.
A full Moon happens when the side of the Moon facing the Earth is fully lit up by the Sun. It rises around sunset and sets around sunrise.
Because of the gravity interplay between the Moon and the Earth, the Moon is slowed into a rotation at the same speed of Earth – a process known as being ‘tidally locked’, according to NASA
Moon-watchers are therefore always able to see the same side of the Moon as the terminator (the line between the lit and shadowed sides of the moon) moves across the Moon’s surface throughout the lunar month.
During a full Moon, the Earth-facing side of the Moon is fully lit, revealing its characteristic lunar landscapes that many in the Northern Hemisphere call the ‘Man in the Moon’.
The name ‘Wolf Moon’ is believed to have originated from North American Indigenous nations when wolves would have been heard howling in the night after growing hungry during the long winter season.