Moon and Mars tonight: What time and how to see them in Arizona – The Arizona Republic

People who enjoy looking up at the night skymay besurprised to see a bright dot accompanying the moon on Friday night.

Oct. 14'swaninggibbous moon will be visible as the sun goes downaround 6 p.m.Arizona time. Abright, reddish dot ofMarswill be shining several finger widths to its lower rightaround 10 p.m.

If you are looking up at the sky you should be able tosee Mars by3.6 degreesbeneath the 73%-lit waning gibbous moon.

For folks unfamiliar or who needa quick refresher on what"waning gibbous"means, it's when the moon isbetween a Full Moon and a Half Moon. "Waning" means that the light on the moon is getting smaller. "Gibbous" refers to theobservable illuminated part of the moon.

The moon is projected to risearound 9 p.m.

How to see the moon and Mars

Using a pair of binocularswill help you get a better view of the moon and Mars.

Once the sun is rising at around 6:30 a.m. Oct. 15, the moon will be further and too far awayto see.

The red planet isbrightening as it waxes until thebiannualsuper bright opposition in early December. This means that Earth will be exactly between Mars and the Sun as we rotate around the sun faster.Thiswill be atits closest to Earth for just over two years.

Have a question you need answered? Reach the reporter at rromeroruiz@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter@raphaeldelag.

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Moon and Mars tonight: What time and how to see them in Arizona - The Arizona Republic