Rare Lunar Occultation: Moon Comes Directly Between Earth And Mars

A rare phenomenon of the Moon eclipsing planet Mars completely for an hour and a half was visible from 5 PM onwards today. The rare lunar occultation was only visible from India, Indonesia and the western coast of South Africa.

This occultation was the result of the crescent Moon coming directly between Earth and Mars. It appears as if the Moon is passing in front of Mars and eclipse the Red Planet. Such a rare phenomenon is visible twice a year.

During this time, Mars will not be visible anywhere in the sky for a short period. With naked eyes, Mars looked like a red dot in the night sky next to the Moon.

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According to US space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), occultation is a phenomenon when one object passes in front of another object which is much smaller, for example when the moon passes in front of a distant star.

The Moon passes very close to Mars every month. Along with people of India, people on the western coast of southern Africa to Indonesia were also able to see the occultation.