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Tis the season in our brother world's orbit when its face looks brighter than ever. Swinging into position behind the Earth so that it is opposite the sun in our sky, Mars will appear fully illuminated to our Earthbound eyes. Just as a Full Moon sits behind the Earth and receives full sunlight, so too does Mars this season. This is why the placement is called opposition.
The real treat comes in the early morning hours of Tuesday, April 15. At around 1:30 A.M. the Full Moon, fully illuminated by the Sun, will pass into the shadow of the Earth. Scattering the white sunlight of the Sun, the shadow will cast a dark red cloak upon the surface of our Moon. Bathed in this red blood light, the Moon will nearly disappear from view for over an hour before it pulls itself out of the heavenly darkness and is reborn into the full radiant of pure sunlight. All of this happens in just the right spot, opposite the sun, where Mars is hanging out.
Playing around with the Bishop Planetarium's amazing Digistar5 star system, I ran a simulation of the lunar eclipse with Mars unnaturally giant in the background. Here La Luna drifts into the shadow...lingers in darkness...and then emerges safely on the other side...
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| 1:30 am 4/15/14 |
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| 3:00 am 4/15/14 |
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| 4:30 am 4/15/14 |
Feeling adventurous? Brew yourself that perfect cup of coffee at 11:55 P.M. on Monday April 14, go out and find yourself a nice dark spot to watch the celestial drama of our Moon being swallowed whole only to reemerge as glorious and full as ever.
