If you are used to looking at the sky to count stars and make wishes, get ready to do something more interesting. This Thursday, the 8th, Mars will disappear from the sky. The culprit of this? The moon.
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But calm down. There is no reason to despair. Everything should last only 31 minutes and is an expected astronomical movement.
What will happen is a phenomenon called lunar occultation. In this period of just over half an hour, our Moon – which will be full – will be in front of the red planet. Thus, we will have the impression that Mars has disappeared.
This Astronomy waltz is scheduled to take place around 5:58 am, Brazil time.
old case
This isn't the first time the moon has tried to dim Mars. This phenomenon happened in September 2020 and could be seen in Brazil. Before that, it happened again on August 9 of that same year.
In fact, the Moon loves to take over the Solar System for itself. This happens several times a year, in fact, and not just with Mars, but with many other planets and celestial bodies.
The difference is that it is not always visible to us earthlings. In addition, it is not always possible to observe the phenomenon with the naked eye.
Is it possible to see the Moon occult Mars in Brazil?
Unfortunately, it will not be possible to see the phenomenon in Brazil. It will only be visible to a select group of countries in the Northern Hemisphere: Greenland and Northern Europe, all of North America and Northern Africa.
But don't worry, "the humbled will be exalted". Our moment will come, it should only take a little while.
Astronomers point out that we could see the Moon hide Mars again in February 2026. Until then, let's stand firm. It's like I said Renato Russo: “whoever believes always achieves”.
Graduated in Social Communication at the Federal University of Goiás. Passionate about digital media, pop culture, technology, politics and psychoanalysis.
