Stargazers gather on 606 Trail to watch Mars dip behind the Moon
CHICAGO (CBS) -- It was nothing short of a magical night for astronomers Wednesday, as there was a rare chance to see the Red Planet dropping out of sight behind the moon.
As CBS 2's Marybel González reported, stargazers were especially busy gazing at the astral panoramas visible from the 606 Trail. People braved the cold to watch the sky for the rare event – and one Chicago man brought all his telescopic equipment to make sure others could see Mars disappear and reappear.
Astronomer Joe Guzman – known to fans as "Astro Joe" - bought out the works for Wednesday night's out-of-this-world sighting.
"This is a very rare event," Guzman said. "The next one will come 2025, and after that, we are going to have to wait like another 14 years."
The event is called the lunar occultation of Mars. That term may sound mystical – or even sinister – but it's a proper astronomical term. It refers to an occasion when the moon passes in front of Mars.
"What's incredible about it is that they are millions of miles apart - the moon only 250,000 miles from the Earth, but Mars is about 50 million miles away," Guzman said. "Scientists can measure distances, the speed of light, and a whole bunch of other scientific equations by this one event."
Mars hid by behind the Moon around 9:10 p.m., reemerging about an hour later.
It was a sight only those in North America and Europe got to experience firsthand, Guzman said.
"There's a beautiful sky above us, and a lot of people think if you're in the city, you can't see astronomy - and that's not true," said 606 visitor Greeg Kozlik, "and Joe has shown the sky to thousands of people, and I hope to be one of them tonight."
"It's really interesting seeing Mars go behind the moon - and trying to understand why that happens," another attendee said. "It's pretty interesting."
If you missed the event, Guzman has other stargazing events on a regular basis. More information is available at the Chicago Astronomer Facebook page.
