狼月掩火星

狼月掩火星

Wolf Moon Engulfs Mars
Image Credit & Copyright: Imran Sultan

Explanation: Does the Moon ever engulf Mars? Yes, but only in the sense that it moves in front, which happens on rare occasions. This happened just yesterday, though, as seen from some locations in North America and western Africa. This occultation was notable not only because the Moon was a fully lit Wolf Moon, but because Mars was near its largest and brightest, moving to opposition — the closest to the Earth in its orbit — only tomorrow. The engulfing, more formally called an occultation, typically lasting about an hour. The featured image was taken from near Chicago, Illinois, USA just as Earth’s largest satellite was angularly moving away from the much more distant red planet. Our Moon occasionally moves in front of all of the Solar System‘s planets. Given the temporary alignment of orbital planes, the next time our Moon eclipses Mars will be a relatively soon February 9.

Growing Gallery: Moon-Mars Occultation in January 2025
Tomorrow’s picture: galactic pinwheel

狼月掩火星
影像提供与版权: Imran Sultan

说明: 月亮会吞食火星吗？会，不过是以“遮掩”的形式，而每当月亮通过火星的前方时，便会发生这种现象。昨天发生的这种罕见的月掩火星事件，可见的区域包括北美洲和西非的部分地区。这例月掩火星之所以格外引人注目，除了因为当晚的月亮是满相的“狼月”之外，更因为明天火星会来到最接近地球的位置（火星冲），因此火星最近看起来又大又亮。上述的这种通常会持续数分钟的掩食现象，正式的名称为“掩星（occultation）”。 这幅摄于美国 伊利诺州芝加哥市附近的主题影像，取像时地球的最大卫星，在角度上刚好与距离较远的泛红火星正要分离。其实我们的月亮，偶尔也会掩食太阳系的其他行星。由于目前的月亮与火星，恰好位于它们轨道面的交点附近，2月9日将再次发生月掩火星。

不断增长的画廊: 2025年1月的月掩火星
明日的图片: galactic pinwheel