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Moon, Mars do celestial dance

Sat, 30/01/2010 - 09:48 by shalini.bahadur

Washington -- It should be a good night for gazing heavenward, weather-permitting, with the moon and Mars shining big and bright in the sky.

The "Wolf moon" -- named by Native Americans -- will be the biggest, brightest full moon of 2010, Space.com reports.

It coincides with a phenomenon that occurs about every two years in which Mars is opposite the sun when viewed from Earth, and as close as the red planet gets to Earth.

Mars, which will appear to rise at sunset Friday, will be visible until sunrise Saturday, and will appear left of the moon.

During Wolf moon, the planet reaches its closest point to Earth, called pedigree. Tonight, it will appear roughly 14 percent wider and 13 percent brighter than other full moons, Spaceweather.com said.

Copyright 2010 United Press International, Inc. (UPI).

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