Our satellite hangs out with the heart of the Scorpion, known for its vivid red hue.
Look south this evening after sunset to catch the Moon hanging with ruby-red Antares. Then, compare the star’s hue to that of Mars in the west. Credit: Stellarium/USGS/Celestia/Clementine
- The Moon will appear near Antares, a red giant star, in the southern sky after sunset.
- Antares, meaning “rival of Ares,” is reddish and easily visible without a telescope.
- The Moon will be nearly full, with about 93% illumination.
The Moon passes 0.4° south of the red giant star Antares in Scorpius at 2 P.M. EDT. The two stand high in the southern sky after dark, with the Moon now 5° from the bright star, to Antares’ lower left.
Antares is Scorpius’ alpha star and is often depicted as the heart of the Scorpion. Glowing at magnitude 1.1, it is a red supergiant some 550 light-years away. Even without a telescope, its reddish hue is unmistakable, and plays a large part in the star’s name, which is often translated as “rival of Ares” (Mars) because its color is so close to that of the Red Planet in our sky. You can compare for yourself this evening in the hour or two after sunset — around 10 P.M. local daylight time, as Antares hangs in the southern sky, Mars is still visible above the western horizon, near the back feet of Leo the Lion. Shining at magnitude 1.5, Mars is easy to find to the upper left of the bright blue star Regulus. The planet’s ruddy color should be visible to the naked eye.
Standing above the curved tail of Scorpius, the Moon is nearly Full. Some 93 percent of its nearside is now illuminated, with only a sliver of the western limb still in darkness.
Sunrise: 5:39 A.M.
Sunset: 8:31 P.M.
Moonrise: 6:21 P.M.
Moonset: 2:28 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous (90%)
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 12 P.M. local time from the same location.
For a look ahead at more upcoming sky events, check out our full Sky This Week column.
