If you look at the Moon from Montreal at 7:26 a.m. on the morning of Tuesday, February 18, 2020, you'll get to see it "eat" Mars. This is the perfect reason to set your alarm a little extra early. Get all the details below. Visit MTLBlog for more headlines. Whether or not you're a star lover, you're going to want to be looking up at the sky from Montreal tomorrow morning because we're about to witness a moon moment. North America is getting the chance to see Mars getting "eaten" by the Moon, which in actual astronomical language is known as a Moon-Mars occultation. Who wouldn't want to see the Moon from Montreal having a little snack of one of the Solar System's planets? As someone who knows very little astronomical terminology, I needed an explanation for what exactly the "occultation of Mars" meant — now I'm here to share my discovery with you. Dictionary.com's definition of the term occultation is "the passage of one celestial body in front of another, thus hiding the other from view: applied especially to the moon's coming between an observer and a star or planet." So, now the idea that the Moon will "eat" Mars makes a little more sense, right? Not that the moon could ever actually get hungry... I assume. What exactly is going to be happening in the sky is that as the sun starts to rise, Mars and the Moon will begin to get closer and closer together. Eventually, the Moon is going to cover Mars. If you get the chance to watch this all go down, it'll seem as though Mars simply vanished behind the Moon. View this post on Instagram In fancy astronomy lingo, an "occultation" of Mars will occur before sunrise on Feb 18. In simple terms, the orbit or actual movement of the Moon will cause the illusion of Mars approaching the edge of the Moon then disappearing behind it. It's basically another word for eclipse of a planet or star by the Moon as it noticeably moves along the sky about every hour. Visible in binoculars of any kind, just point at the Moon. MOUNTAIN TIME ZONE: Occultation begins (Mars disappears behind moon’s lit side): 4:40:31 a.m. MST on February 18. 2020 Occultation ends (Mars reappears from behind the moon’s dark limb): 6:00:31 a.m. MST on February 18, 2020 Sunrise: 6:49 a.m. MST on February 18, 2020. 👽🌌🛸👽🛸🌌👽🛸🌌👽🛸🌌 👽🌌🛸👽🛸🌌👽🛸🌌👽🛸🌌 #photooftheday #magicufo #elpasotx #elpaso #itsallgoodep #telescope #sky #moon #stars #astrogenius #igerselpaso #occultation #Mars A post shared by EL PASO TELESCOPE CAFE (@elpasotelescopecafe) on Jan 19, 2020 at 6:03am PST Although parts of North America are blessed with the chance to get to witness this, it is still, in fact, a chance that we'll get to. The sky will need to be clear to actually catch a glimpse of the Moon covering Mars. At least 10 cm of snow is expected to hit Montreal during the day tomorrow, so let's hope it holds off as long as possible. As long as the sky over our city is clear at 7:39 a.m., we'll be able to witness this astronomical phenomenon happen. It is at this time that Mars is expected to disappear from our sight. View this post on Instagram Mercury’s retrograde motion starts again today February 17, 2020!🌘 According to the age-old practice of astrology, we are all influenced by the effect of Mercury in retrograde. Three times a year, it appears as if Mercury is traveling backwards. We refer to these periods as times when Mercury is in retrograde motion, or simply “Mercury retrograde.” These times in particular were traditionally associated with confusions, delay, and frustration. Think email blunders and frazzled travel plans. However, this is an excellent time to reflect on the past. It’s said that intuition is high during these periods, and coincidences can be extraordinary. ✨ #mercury #retrograde #mercuryretrograde #universe #stars #astrology #starsigns #signs #angels #sky #planete #night #beautiful #enlightened #power #moon #beauty A post shared by Let the Light gets in✨ (@letsgetlight) on Feb 17, 2020 at 12:49pm PST And for anyone who truly believes in the stars, a little reminder that this decade's first Mercury retrograde began today. So, if you find yourself feeling confused and focused on the past between now and March 10 — you know why. View this post on Instagram My last night in Montreal I was late back from a day trip to Quebec City, ran all the way up Parc du Mont-Royal and missed the sunset by 10 minutes. Suitably pissed off, I polished off my last tinny and sulked knowing I'd return to Bonnie Scotland via Dublin the next day. Then boom - the moon rose and I got my favourite picture from my time in Montreal! Take me back! #montreal #montrealcity #montrealmoon #visitmontreal #moonlight #montrealskyline #canada #parcdumontroyal #parc #frenchies A post shared by Andy Gunn (@andygunn23) on Sep 7, 2015 at 10:34am PDT A professor of physics and astronomy at York University, Elaina Hyde, told CTV that this is the only occultation that North America will get to witness in 2020. So, do your best to get up a little extra early tomorrow morning!
