Mars, which has been getting brighter in the night sky, will be briefly blocked out on Monday night by the full moon — an event known as a lunar occultation.
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In the Bay Area, the conjunction will begin around 6 p.m., shortly after both Mars and the moon appear above the horizon to the east-northeast. About 40 minutes later, Mars will emerge from behind the moon. (The night sky simulator at TimeandDate.com gives a preview.)
Mars features in two other astronomical events this month:
• On Wednesday, Jan. 15, it will reach opposition, appearing opposite the sun when seen from Earth around sunset. Partly because of its proximity to Earth and partly because of its position relative to the sun, Mars will appear abnormally bright, like a big red-tinged star.
• For the rest of the month, it is one of six planets in a “parade” — Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus will line up in an arc across the sky. The last two will be harder to see, but the bigger four will be visible to the naked eye, Venus and Saturn to the southwest, Jupiter overhead and Mars to the east.
