Experience the Enigmatic Dance: Witness the Wolf Moon Eclipse Mars Tonight in Boston!

BOSTON – The highlight of the week is arriving tonight in the night sky – the lunar occultation of Mars.

To begin, at 5:27 p.m. the moon will officially reach its full phase. The full moon of January is referred to as the “Wolf” moon. It will ascend in the east at 4:09 p.m. today.

If you gaze up at the moon around 6 p.m., you will spot the “Red Planet” quite nearby, positioned slightly to the lower left of the moon.

Full moon will obscure Mars

However, there’s more. This evening, the moon will “occult” Mars. This is a sophisticated term that means the moon will move in front of and entirely obscure the planet.

This occurrence with planet Mars takes place roughly once every 14 years.

When to observe the lunar occultation of Mars in Boston

In Boston and nearby areas, this event will transpire between 9:26 p.m. and 10:42 p.m. (times of disappearance and reappearance).

While the moon and Mars will be easily visible early in the evening to the naked eye, witnessing the actual occultation will necessitate some equipment, like binoculars or a telescope.

This is due to the full moon’s magnificence, which causes Mars to be overwhelmed and practically invisible as it approaches. The moon shines about 40,000 times brighter than the planet Mars.

The moon will transition from the upper right of Mars to the lower left over the period of that hour and 16 minutes.

If you miss this event, the subsequent opportunity for a favorable moon occultation of Mars in our region will not occur until February 5, 2042.

One note: There will be some scattered clouds in the vicinity tonight, especially earlier in the evening.

The maximum cloud coverage will be accompanied by a few rain or snow showers around 5-7 p.m.

We can expect a clearing after that, possibly just in time for the occultation.

Weekend storm ahead?

We are facing a rather calm week of weather upcoming.

A few rain or snow flurries are expected this evening, succeeded by another drop in temperatures midweek. Ultimately, our next opportunity for any substantial stormy conditions will arrive next weekend, though it remains uncertain how severe this event will be; it appears as though rain will dominate much of southern New England.

Maximum temperatures will be below the usual figures for the majority of the coming week.

No precipitation anticipated following the scattered showers on Monday evening for the remaining workweek.