Reader George Ponder submitted this photo that he took of the Moon and Mars, which appeared very close together last night.
Mars is actually a very bright orange right now because it is at opposition to the Sun. But the brightness of the Moon washes out the color of the red planet in George’s beautiful photo.
The Moon is amazingly bright right now because it is riding much higher than normal. I don’t ever remember such brilliant moonlight. I understand that the moon will not be brighter until 2023.
Look for another great sky show tonight.
