The Moon occults Mars — 17 August 2028
Lunar occultation of the planet Mars · Thursday 17 August 2028 · World
No large city sees this one. The map shows where it's visible.
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, Mars misses: from Lima, PE it passes 5.2′ outside the Moon. Right on the line it grazes, blinking behind lunar mountains. The solid line uses the Moon's real, mountainous edge. It lies -1.7 to +0.1 km from the smooth-sphere line (dotted).
In the violet area the Sun has set, so the reappearance is in a darkening sky.
Tap the map to set your location; pinch it to zoom in. Take the graze line with you: KML for Google Earth / Maps · GPX for a phone GPS app.
At the Moon's edge
Mars's path across the Moon from your location. North up, east 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.
Advanced · graze profile against the real lunar limb
For graze chasers. The Moon's real edge as you see it, from LRO LOLA terrain, with Mars's track for six minutes around each contact. Where the track dips below the terrain, Mars is hidden; near a graze it blinks behind peaks.
City by city
Times are against the real lunar limb (LRO LOLA terrain at each city's own libration). Disappears: Mars is fully hidden (it starts sliding in at the earlier time). Reappears: the first sliver returns. Where to look: the Moon's height (0° horizon, 90° overhead), its direction, and whether the Sun is up.
| City | Mars disappears (UTC) | reappears (UTC) | hidden | Where to look |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lima, PE | misses by 5.2′ (closest at 20:18) | 1° up (low) in the WNW · daylight, Sun +37° | ||
| Mexico City, MX | misses by 21.0′ (closest at 19:39) | 41° up in the WNW · daylight, Sun +74° | ||
| New York City, US | misses by 45.9′ (closest at 19:26) | 26° up in the W · daylight, Sun +48° | ||
| Tokyo, JP | misses by 30.0′ (closest at 17:17) | 2° up (low) in the ENE · dark sky | ||
All 40 other cities
| City | Mars disappears (UTC) | reappears (UTC) | hidden | Where to look |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auckland, NZ | misses by 12.5′ (closest at 17:38) | 5° up (low) in the NE · dark sky | ||
| Bogotá, CO | misses by 21.3′ (closest at 20:09) | 6° up (low) in the WNW · daylight, Sun +43° | ||
| Brooklyn, US | misses by 45.8′ (closest at 19:26) | 26° up in the W · daylight, Sun +48° | ||
| Calgary, CA | misses by 37.4′ (closest at 18:41) | 56° up in the SW · daylight, Sun +50° | ||
| Cali, CO | misses by 19.3′ (closest at 20:10) | 8° up (low) in the WNW · daylight, Sun +44° | ||
| Caracas, VE | misses by 28.9′ (closest at 20:04) | 3° up (low) in the WNW · daylight, Sun +38° | ||
| Chicago, US | misses by 41.4′ (closest at 19:17) | 38° up in the W · daylight, Sun +56° | ||
| Ciudad Juárez, MX | misses by 26.3′ (closest at 19:13) | 54° up in the W · daylight, Sun +71° | ||
| Dallas, US | misses by 31.8′ (closest at 19:22) | 44° up in the W · daylight, Sun +67° | ||
| Ecatepec de Morelos, MX | misses by 21.2′ (closest at 19:39) | 41° up in the WNW · daylight, Sun +74° | ||
| Guadalajara, MX | misses by 19.6′ (closest at 19:33) | 47° up in the W · daylight, Sun +78° | ||
| Guayaquil, EC | misses by 13.0′ (closest at 20:13) | 8° up (low) in the WNW · daylight, Sun +45° | ||
| Harbin, CN | misses by 41.0′ (closest at 17:30) | 0° up (low) in the ENE · dark sky | ||
| Havana, CU | misses by 32.0′ (closest at 19:47) | 25° up in the WNW · daylight, Sun +57° | ||
| Houston, US | misses by 30.4′ (closest at 19:28) | 42° up in the W · daylight, Sun +68° | ||
| Iztapalapa, MX | misses by 21.0′ (closest at 19:39) | 41° up in the WNW · daylight, Sun +74° | ||
| Kawasaki, JP | misses by 29.8′ (closest at 17:17) | 2° up (low) in the ENE · dark sky | ||
| León de los Aldama, MX | misses by 20.9′ (closest at 19:34) | 45° up in the W · daylight, Sun +77° | ||
| Los Angeles, US | misses by 22.5′ (closest at 18:53) | 67° up (high) in the WSW · daylight, Sun +65° | ||
| Manhattan, US | misses by 45.9′ (closest at 19:26) | 26° up in the W · daylight, Sun +48° | ||
| Maracaibo, VE | misses by 27.2′ (closest at 20:04) | 7° up (low) in the WNW · daylight, Sun +43° | ||
| Medellín, CO | misses by 22.1′ (closest at 20:07) | 9° up (low) in the WNW · daylight, Sun +45° | ||
| Montréal, CA | misses by 48.3′ (closest at 19:19) | 27° up in the W · daylight, Sun +46° | ||
| Philadelphia, US | misses by 45.1′ (closest at 19:26) | 26° up in the W · daylight, Sun +49° | ||
| Phoenix, US | misses by 24.9′ (closest at 19:03) | 61° up (high) in the WSW · daylight, Sun +69° | ||
| Puebla, MX | misses by 21.2′ (closest at 19:41) | 40° up in the WNW · daylight, Sun +73° | ||
| Queens, US | misses by 45.9′ (closest at 19:26) | 25° up in the W · daylight, Sun +48° | ||
| Quito, EC | misses by 15.3′ (closest at 20:12) | 8° up (low) in the WNW · daylight, Sun +45° | ||
| Saitama, JP | misses by 30.1′ (closest at 17:18) | 2° up (low) in the ENE · dark sky | ||
| San Antonio, US | misses by 28.6′ (closest at 19:25) | 45° up in the W · daylight, Sun +70° | ||
| San Diego, US | misses by 21.9′ (closest at 18:57) | 66° up (high) in the WSW · daylight, Sun +67° | ||
| Santiago de Querétaro, MX | misses by 21.2′ (closest at 19:36) | 43° up in the WNW · daylight, Sun +76° | ||
| Santo Domingo, DO | misses by 33.8′ (closest at 19:56) | 10° up (low) in the WNW · daylight, Sun +43° | ||
| Sapporo, JP | misses by 34.9′ (closest at 17:23) | 7° up (low) in the ENE · dark sky | ||
| The Bronx, US | misses by 46.0′ (closest at 19:26) | 26° up in the W · daylight, Sun +48° | ||
| Tijuana, MX | misses by 21.8′ (closest at 18:57) | 66° up (high) in the WSW · daylight, Sun +67° | ||
| Toronto, CA | misses by 45.4′ (closest at 19:19) | 31° up in the W · daylight, Sun +50° | ||
| Valencia, VE | misses by 28.2′ (closest at 20:04) | 4° up (low) in the WNW · daylight, Sun +39° | ||
| Yokohama, JP | misses by 29.8′ (closest at 17:17) | 2° up (low) in the ENE · dark sky | ||
| Zapopan, MX | misses by 19.7′ (closest at 19:33) | 47° up in the W · daylight, Sun +78° | ||
How to watch
Method & accuracy
Positions from the JPL DE431 ephemeris (Skyfield), ΔT = 69.1 s. City times and the solid limit line use the real lunar limb: LRO LOLA terrain (LDEM_64, ~0.5 km) as each observer sees it. That changes times by a few seconds, or tens of seconds near a graze. The any-location solver in your browser and the shaded region still use the mean sphere of 1737.4 km (±2 s). 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 2026-09-14.