SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Last week, a full moon lit up the sky but it was another celestial moment, one that’s more rare, that wowed sky-gazers and space photographers alike.
On Jan. 13, the night of the full Wolf Moon, an infrequent event occurred known as a lunar occultation of Mars. This happens when the moon passes directly in front of Mars, temporarily hiding the planet from view. In other words, the moon’s disk completely obscured the Red Planet from the line of sight for all earthlings.
As explained by In-The-Sky.org , this phenomenon can be brief, lasting anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes, depending on the size and trajectory of the moon’s path across the sky. Lunar occultations are often used by astronomers to measure the moon’s position and to study the characteristics of the occulted stars or planets.
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North County photographer Vladimir Medvinsky captured the fleeting moment on camera after noticing on his astronomy app, Sky Guide , that the lunar occultation of Mars was expected. He snapped the event using The Photographer’s Ephemeris , which is a map-based sun, moon and Milky Way calculator that helps plan precise shoots of space…