So I grabbed my camera, ran outside, and looked up just as Mars was supposed to emerge from the Moon's curved horizon. Seen with the naked eye, the Moon's brightness far outshined Mars, casting soft shadows on a cold winter evening in East Texas.

The moon performed a cosmic ballet with Mars this week. On Monday evening (Jan. 13), the Full Wolf Moon passed in front of Mars in what's known as a lunar occultation, during which another celestial object appears to disappear behind the moon from our vantage point on Earth.

January's wolf moon will officially be the first full moon of 2025 at 4:27 p.m. CT. Space is a big place, so keen stargazers will have the opportunity to see, or rather not see, Mars as it hides behind the moon before it has its own moment later in the week.