The "Astronomical Theater" in 2020 ushered in the curtain call-"Mars with the moon"

　　Xinhua News Agency, Tianjin, December 22 (Reporter Zhou Runjian) Astronomical experts introduced that the "Astronomical Theater" in 2020 will usher in a curtain call performance on December 23-"Mars with the Moon". If the weather is fine, my country's interested public will face In the southwestern sky, you can enjoy this beautiful "Xingyue Fairy Tale" with the naked eye.

　　Mars appears as a bright red celestial body in the night sky, glowing like fire.

Li Meicong, vice chairman of the Tianjin Astronomical Society, said that starting from September this year, the brightness of Mars has gradually increased, and in October it became the "brightest star" in the southeast sky.

Entering December, the brightness of Mars has dropped significantly, but it is still relatively bright and visible to the naked eye.

　　Throughout December, Mars still appeared in the southeast sky every evening. As time goes by, it travels to the south and southwest sky, and falls from the west after midnight.

At 2:32 a.m. on December 24, Mars will pass about 5.6 degrees north of the moon, forming the astronomical phenomenon of "Mars conjoining the moon".

Since Mars and the moon are sinking westward at the time of "combination", the interested public in our country can watch the southwest for some time after nightfall on the 23rd. Mars is on top and the moon is down, forming a beautiful scene of "Mars with the moon".

　　For a long time, Mars has been one of the main battlefields for human space exploration.

In the summer of 2020, Mars is really on fire. The UAE’s first Mars rover "Hope", China’s first autonomous Mars exploration mission "Tianwen-1" rover and NASA’s "Perseverance" rover are on 7 Moon went to Mars, setting off a new upsurge in Mars exploration.

In the winter of 2020, the moon is also "fire". my country's Chang'e-5 rushed to the moon. After surpassing many difficulties, it successfully returned to Earth with lunar samples.

　　"It is of special significance to observe the "Mars with the Moon" under this background. Mars is the only terrestrial planet that can be seen clearly with a telescope. If the weather is fine, the interested public in our country can use small astronomy The telescope is trying to observe the demeanor of this planet that has become a "net celebrity" this year, and at the same time observe the moon that left the shadow of Chang'e-5." Li Meicong said.