13 April 2014
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This illustration shows the relative locations of the Moon and Mars on the evening of 14 April 2014.
On the evening of 14 April 2014, the Moon, almost full, will shine close to Mars, the Red Planet. When two or more celestial objects appear close together in the sky, they are said to be in conjunction. Lunar conjunctions, featuring the Moon and a bright planet or a bright star, are among the most beautiful heavenly sights that can viewed with the unaided eye.
During the 14 April conjunction, Mars will be visible as a bright reddish star, east of the Moon. The Moon will be 99.7% illuminated, nearing the full phase, which will occur in the next morning. The Moon will be located 384,000 km from Earth, while Mars will be approximately 93 million km away from Earth, or about 240 times more distant than the Moon. The Moon and Mars will be visible east of southeast, close to the horizon, among the stars of the zodiacal constellation Virgo, The Virgin.
Interestingly, some Native Americans named the April Full Moon the “Full Pink Moon”, for a flowering plant, which flowers in spring, and is native to eastern and central USA.
References
US Naval Observatory Website
Your Sky
The Old Farmer’s Almanac
Wikipedia
Aymen Mohamed Ibrahem
Senior Astronomy Specialist