While the moon often appears close to other planets in the night sky, this pairing is taking place as Mars approaches its bi-annual opposition date and is more visible in the night sky. Poulin said Mars will appear just beneath the moon, and both will track eastward throughout the night. “If (people) have a clear view toward the northeast, they will have an excellent view of the moonrise, and Mars will follow.”

“They will be low hanging about three hours after sunset but they will rise by the minute,” he told CTVNews.ca in an interview over the phone on Wednesday. Nightly Briefing newsletter: Sign up for coverage of the day’s most compelling news.This is because celestial bodies like the moon appear magnified when close to the horizon, making the sight more visually striking. Guillaume Poulin, science communicator at Mont-Mégantic National Park’s ASTROLab, said the best time to see this planet-moon pairing is closer to moonrise as opposed to later in the evening. Sunset across most of Canada will fall between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m., depending on location.

The Red Planet will join the waning moon in the northeast about half an hour after moonrise and three hours after sunset that night. Look up to the night sky on Friday and you might see the moon has some company: Mars.

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