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Sometimes Mars is bright like a dot of flame. Other times, as in May 2021, Mars appears inconspicuous among the brighter stars. Why?

May 25, 2021 Lunar libration lets us see more than 50% of the moon. Photos by Manuel Castillo Vela/ EPOD. It’s common knowledge that our moon has a near side and a far side. And most people know that half of the moon always faces Earth, and one half always points away. Does this mean we can only see 50% of the moon’s surface from Earth? No. Over time, it’s possible to see as much as 59% of the moon’s surface, due to a combination of motions – in particular, a slight north-south rocking and east-west wobbling of the moon – known as

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Bruce McClure Bruce McClure has served as lead writer for EarthSky's popular Tonight pages since 2004. He's a sundial aficionado, whose love for the heavens has taken him to Lake Titicaca in Bolivia and sailing in the North Atlantic, where he earned his celestial navigation certificate through the School of Ocean Sailing and Navigation. He also writes and hosts public astronomy programs and planetarium programs in and around his home in upstate New York.

Graham Jones Graham Jones is an astrophysicist and science communicator at timeanddate.com. He is part of the timeanddate team that produces live streams of eclipses and transits, including the May 26 lunar eclipse and June 10 solar eclipse. Graham has a BSc in astrophysics from Royal Holloway, University of London, and an MSc in science communication from the University of Edinburgh.