We're in for a stargazing treat this Labor Day weekend as our closest neighbor, the moon, meets up with the "red planet" late Saturday night into Sunday morning.
This rendezvous is known as a "conjunction". An astronomical conjunction is when at least two astronomical objects have either the same right ascension or the same ecliptic longitude as viewed from here on Earth. Which basically means, they're pretty close together in the sky.
On Saturday night and into Sunday morning, Mars will be just above the moon. Mars will be easy to identify because of its reddish color.
You'll be able to see this celestial even with the unaided eye but for a more up close view, try looking at it with a pair of binoculars or a small telescope.
For the past few days, the moon has been making its way across the night sky, visiting two other planets. Earlier this week, the moon met up with Jupiter and then Saturn.
Also visible this weekend, looking southward.
