Moon Joins Mars in Gemini (all night)

Once the sky darkens on Saturday evening, March 8, bright reddish Mars and Gemini’s two brightest stars Castor and Pollux will appear around the bright gibbous moon. Mars and the moon will be close enough together to share the view in a backyard telescope or binoculars (orange circle). The “twin” stars will shine off to their left (or celestial northeast). As the night wears on the moon’s eastward orbital motion will carry it between Mars and Pollux and the diurnal rotation of the sky will rotate the twins above the moon and Mars.