The almost-full moon comes together with Mars this week for a bright pairing in the evening sky. Mars remains red and vibrant, having recently passed its closest approach to Earth. The chart shows the view looking south-east at 9pm GMT on 29 October.
The meeting will take place in the constellation Pisces, the fish, just above Cetus, the whale, in a part of the sky sometimes referred to as the celestial sea because the constellations here all tend to be associated with water. From the southern hemisphere, the pairing will take place in the northern part of the sky.
To the casual observer the moon will probably look full, but see if you can discern the slight deformation to the moon’s round shape that indicates the illumination is not quite face on. The moon will be full for Halloween and as this is the second full moon in the month – the first was the northern hemisphere’s harvest moon on 1 October – it is often referred to as a blue moon.
