The Moon occults Mars — 17 August 2028
Lunar occultation of the planet Mars · Thursday 17 August 2028 · World
The Moon hides Mars, but from no large city — the map shows where.
Where it can be seen
The gold line is the north limit: along it Mars grazes the Moon's northern edge. North of the line it is a near miss — from Lima, PE Mars passes just 5.2′ outside the limb — and a graze seen from right on the line, Mars blinking in and out behind lunar mountains, is the finest view of all.
The violet shading is where the Sun has set by the time of the event, so the reappearance happens in a darkening sky.
Tap the map to set your location.
At the Moon's edge
Mars's path across the Moon from your location — north up, east to the left as in binoculars. Times here are computed in your browser from the same ephemeris as the table, to the same ±2 s. Drag the slider to move it along its track.
City by city
Times are for the Moon's mean limb; the real limb's mountains and valleys shift each contact by up to a couple of seconds. Disappears is the moment Mars is fully hidden (its disc takes from the earlier time to slide in); reappears is when the first sliver returns.
| City | Mars disappears (UTC) | reappears (UTC) | hidden | Moon alt. | Sky |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lima, PE | misses — Mars passes 5.2′ from the limb at 20:18 | +1° | daylight, Sun +37° | ||
| Mexico City, MX | misses — Mars passes 21.0′ from the limb at 19:39 | +41° | daylight, Sun +74° | ||
| New York City, US | misses — Mars passes 45.9′ from the limb at 19:26 | +26° | daylight, Sun +48° | ||
| Tokyo, JP | misses — Mars passes 30.0′ from the limb at 17:17 | +2° | dark sky | ||
All 40 other cities
| City | Mars disappears (UTC) | reappears (UTC) | hidden | Moon alt. | Sky |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auckland, NZ | misses — Mars passes 12.5′ from the limb at 17:38 | +5° | dark sky | ||
| Bogotá, CO | misses — Mars passes 21.3′ from the limb at 20:09 | +6° | daylight, Sun +43° | ||
| Brooklyn, US | misses — Mars passes 45.8′ from the limb at 19:26 | +26° | daylight, Sun +48° | ||
| Calgary, CA | misses — Mars passes 37.4′ from the limb at 18:41 | +56° | daylight, Sun +50° | ||
| Cali, CO | misses — Mars passes 19.3′ from the limb at 20:10 | +8° | daylight, Sun +44° | ||
| Caracas, VE | misses — Mars passes 28.9′ from the limb at 20:04 | +3° | daylight, Sun +38° | ||
| Chicago, US | misses — Mars passes 41.4′ from the limb at 19:17 | +38° | daylight, Sun +56° | ||
| Ciudad Juárez, MX | misses — Mars passes 26.3′ from the limb at 19:13 | +54° | daylight, Sun +71° | ||
| Dallas, US | misses — Mars passes 31.8′ from the limb at 19:22 | +44° | daylight, Sun +67° | ||
| Ecatepec de Morelos, MX | misses — Mars passes 21.2′ from the limb at 19:39 | +41° | daylight, Sun +74° | ||
| Guadalajara, MX | misses — Mars passes 19.6′ from the limb at 19:33 | +47° | daylight, Sun +78° | ||
| Guayaquil, EC | misses — Mars passes 13.0′ from the limb at 20:13 | +8° | daylight, Sun +45° | ||
| Harbin, CN | misses — Mars passes 41.0′ from the limb at 17:30 | +0° | dark sky | ||
| Havana, CU | misses — Mars passes 32.0′ from the limb at 19:47 | +25° | daylight, Sun +57° | ||
| Houston, US | misses — Mars passes 30.4′ from the limb at 19:28 | +42° | daylight, Sun +68° | ||
| Iztapalapa, MX | misses — Mars passes 21.0′ from the limb at 19:39 | +41° | daylight, Sun +74° | ||
| Kawasaki, JP | misses — Mars passes 29.8′ from the limb at 17:17 | +2° | dark sky | ||
| León de los Aldama, MX | misses — Mars passes 20.9′ from the limb at 19:34 | +45° | daylight, Sun +77° | ||
| Los Angeles, US | misses — Mars passes 22.5′ from the limb at 18:53 | +67° | daylight, Sun +65° | ||
| Manhattan, US | misses — Mars passes 45.9′ from the limb at 19:26 | +26° | daylight, Sun +48° | ||
| Maracaibo, VE | misses — Mars passes 27.2′ from the limb at 20:04 | +7° | daylight, Sun +43° | ||
| Medellín, CO | misses — Mars passes 22.1′ from the limb at 20:07 | +9° | daylight, Sun +45° | ||
| Montréal, CA | misses — Mars passes 48.3′ from the limb at 19:19 | +27° | daylight, Sun +46° | ||
| Philadelphia, US | misses — Mars passes 45.1′ from the limb at 19:26 | +26° | daylight, Sun +49° | ||
| Phoenix, US | misses — Mars passes 24.9′ from the limb at 19:03 | +61° | daylight, Sun +69° | ||
| Puebla, MX | misses — Mars passes 21.2′ from the limb at 19:41 | +40° | daylight, Sun +73° | ||
| Queens, US | misses — Mars passes 45.9′ from the limb at 19:26 | +25° | daylight, Sun +48° | ||
| Quito, EC | misses — Mars passes 15.3′ from the limb at 20:12 | +8° | daylight, Sun +45° | ||
| Saitama, JP | misses — Mars passes 30.1′ from the limb at 17:18 | +2° | dark sky | ||
| San Antonio, US | misses — Mars passes 28.6′ from the limb at 19:25 | +45° | daylight, Sun +70° | ||
| San Diego, US | misses — Mars passes 21.9′ from the limb at 18:57 | +66° | daylight, Sun +67° | ||
| Santiago de Querétaro, MX | misses — Mars passes 21.2′ from the limb at 19:36 | +43° | daylight, Sun +76° | ||
| Santo Domingo, DO | misses — Mars passes 33.8′ from the limb at 19:56 | +10° | daylight, Sun +43° | ||
| Sapporo, JP | misses — Mars passes 34.9′ from the limb at 17:23 | +7° | dark sky | ||
| The Bronx, US | misses — Mars passes 46.0′ from the limb at 19:26 | +26° | daylight, Sun +48° | ||
| Tijuana, MX | misses — Mars passes 21.8′ from the limb at 18:57 | +66° | daylight, Sun +67° | ||
| Toronto, CA | misses — Mars passes 45.4′ from the limb at 19:19 | +31° | daylight, Sun +50° | ||
| Valencia, VE | misses — Mars passes 28.2′ from the limb at 20:04 | +4° | daylight, Sun +39° | ||
| Yokohama, JP | misses — Mars passes 29.8′ from the limb at 17:17 | +2° | dark sky | ||
| Zapopan, MX | misses — Mars passes 19.7′ from the limb at 19:33 | +47° | daylight, Sun +78° | ||
How to watch
Method & accuracy
Positions from the JPL DE431 ephemeris (Skyfield), ΔT = 69.1 s, the Moon as a sphere of mean radius 1737.4 km — contact times are therefore ±2 s or so against the true, mountainous limb, and the limit line is drawn from a 1.0° grid (≈10 km). Mars's own disc (4″ across) is included: partial contacts are the from/to times. The numbers behind this page: mars-2028-08-17.json. Generated 2026-09-11.