The first dance of the end of the year will take place in heaven, when they are in it the Moon, Mars and Antares the morning of December 31st. It will be a wonderful show that will dismiss this convulsive 2021 in a very special way.
And the best part is that we don’t need anything to see it. Obviously it will be better in the dark, but if we can’t get away from the light pollution we will also see something. Of course, the vision with binoculars it will be much more accurate. But the naked eye show will also be interesting.
The only problem is that the best time to see it, as needed from EarthSkyIt will be very early in the morning, and that can make things a bit difficult. Too early, the Moon will be there, but Mars and Antares have not yet risen by horizon. However, if we spend the dawn light it will hide both from our sight. Therefore, it is advisable to do a rehearsal the day before, so that we find the perfect time to see Mars and Antares. Once this is done, it only remains to go at the same time on December 31 to see how the Moon joins them to close the triangle.
What is Antares?
It is common to hear about conjunctions between the Moon and Mars or other planets. But what is it Antares?
It is the brightest star in the scorpio constellation. Your role in this New Year’s Eve dance will be very interesting because of its color. And it is that it presents a reddish glow which makes it even confused with Mars. In fact, the beginning of his name comes from the Greek prefix anti-, What does it mean rival or opposite. The compound name would mean, therefore, “rival of Ares”, which was the greek god of war, equivalent to Roman god Mars.
Therefore, they are rival celestial bodies, but they will not face each other, but will form two of the vertices of a beautiful triangle in which the waning moon, already with only 11% visible, will complete the show.
Mars and its red rival fight over the Moon on December 31
During the morning of December 31, if we want to see the union of Mars, Antares and the Moon in the sky we must look in the direction of sunrise.
There we will see how Mars is positioned below Moon, but further east, and Antares practically in line with our satellite, but somewhat closer to the horizon than the red planet.
That in the North Hemisphere. In the south, the conformation changes a bit, since it will be Mars that is closest to the horizon. Also, the two reddish objects will be further west than the Moon.
But, be that as it may, it will be a beautiful show to start with energy on the last day of the year. Well, maybe the early morning takes away some of our energy, but it is always positive to start the day by seeing something beautiful. Especially if it is as beautiful as two red stars competing in the sky for the attention of the Moon. And also for ours.