2025, May 1-4: Mars and Evening Moon

May 1-4, 2025: The evening moon approaches and passes Mars.

Moon and Mars, September 5, 2020
Photo Caption – 2020, September 5: The moon and Mars, (Composite of two images)

by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Jupiter, Mars, Moon, Spring Stars

During early May, the waxing moon approaches and passes Mars in the southwestern sky.

Step outside an hour after sundown.  Jupiter, brighter than all the stars in the sky this evening, is less than halfway up in the west, near Taurus’ horns.  Depending on the night, the moon is in the region.

Mars and the Beehive, April 27-May 12, 2025.
Chart Caption – 2025, April 27-May 12: A binocular view of Mars’ eastward march is shown compared to Cancer and the Beehive star cluster.

Gemini is the next constellation eastward from Jupiter’s place.  During the early evening, the Twins are standing upright.  Pollux and Castor are over 30° to Jupiter’s upper left.  Mars is to the left of the Twins.

Mars is brighter than Pollux, but dimmer than Procyon, the Little Dog Star, about 20° below the planet.

Mars and the Beehive Star Cluster

Mars, Moon, Beehive, May 3, 2025
Chart Caption – 2025, May 3: A binocular view of the moon, Mars, and the Beehive star cluster. From the eastern US and Canada, the Moon occults or eclipses Asellus Borealis.

The Red Planet marches eastward in front of Cancer, near the Beehive star cluster, a stellar bundle of a few dozen stars visible through a binocular from suburban backyards.  The cluster’s presence is muted as the evening moonlight increases.  On the evenings of the 4th and 5th, Mars is within 1° of the cluster’s center.

The Highlights

Here is what to see:

Mars, Moon, May 1-4, 2025
Chart Caption – 2025, May 1-4: The evening moon waxes and passes Pollux and Mars, and approaches Regulus.
  • May 1: Bright Jupiter is less than 25° up in the west, 20° to the moon’s lower right. The lunar crescent, 24% illuminated, is nearly halfway up in the western sky and over 25° to the lower right of Mars.  The Red Planet is about one-third of the way from Pollux to Regulus, Leo’s brightest star.
  • May 2: The waxing moon, 34% illuminated, is 50° up in the west. It is 2.7° to Pollux’s lower left and 12.5° to Mars’ lower right.  Its moonlight washes across the sky and casts shadows on the landscape.
  • May 3: Nearing the evening half-full phase, known as First Quarter, the lunar orb is high in the southwest, 1.6° to Mars’ upper right. Mars, Moon and star cluster fit into the same binocular field. From eastern North America, the moon occults Asellus Borealis.
  • May 4: The moon is at the First Quarter phase at 8:52 a.m. Central Time, a few hours before it rises in the Americas.  After sundown, the moon, 55% illuminated, is high in the southwest, over 13° to Mars’ upper left and 9.8° to the right of Regulus.

Watch the moon approach and pass Mars.  Look for the Beehive star cluster through a binocular before the moon brightens too much, though even in brighter moonlight the stars are visible.

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