Mars and the star Regulus delighted stargazers last week when they were seen side-by-side in almost the same brightness but with a really big colour difference. Mars was shining like a red star, while Regulus, the brightest object in the constellation Leo and one of the brightest stars in the night sky, had a blue tinge.
Now, the Moon is all set to add glamour to the night sky by forming a beautiful and unique conjunction this month.
The conjunction will take place on Sunday (June 29). It will be visible from the Northern Hemisphere, as well as the Southern Hemisphere, appearing in the north-northwest.
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Mars and Regulus will move away from each other. Hence, the waxing crescent Moon will have space to appear between them, forming a beautiful conjunction.
A that time, the Moon will be 4.7 days old. It will head toward its first quarter (half-moon) phase with around 24% of its surface illuminated by the Sun. It will pass close to Mars, visible low in the western sky at dusk.
The time it takes for light to travel from celestial bodies to Earth creates a fascinating delay in what we observe. For example, when we look at the Moon, we see it as it appeared 1.3 seconds ago since that's how long it takes for light to travel from the Moon's surface to our eyes.
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Meanwhile, observing Mars means seeing it as it appeared 15 minutes and 57 seconds ago, due to the greater distance light must travel from the planet to Earth.
Regulus, on the other hand, is quite far. When we gaze at it, a star approximately 79 light-years away, we see it as it appeared 79 years ago. The vast distance means the light we observe today has taken nearly eight decades to reach us.
This phenomenon highlights the immense scales of space and time in the universe, reminding us that our view of the cosmos is always slightly delayed.
