|
Credit & Copyright: Alan Friedman
(Averted Imagination)
Explanation:
Mars
is at
opposition
tonight, opposite the Sun in planet Earth's sky.
Of course, it will be easy to spot because
Mars appears
close to tonight's Full Moon, also opposite the Sun in
Earth's night sky in the constellation Cancer.
For this opposition,
Mars remains
just over 99 million kilometers away,
not a particularly close approach for
the Red Planet.
Still, this sharp view
of Mars recorded on January 22nd is an
example of the telescopic images possible in the coming days.
The planet's whitish north polar cap is at the upper right.
Mars' tiny red disk is about 14
arcseconds in
angular diameter, less than 1/100th the diameter
of the Full Moon.
|
January February March April May June July August September October November December |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Mars
Publications with words: Mars
See also:
- APOD: 2024 December 3 Á Ice Clouds over a Red Planet
- APOD: 2024 November 10 Á Valles Marineris: The Grand Canyon of Mars
- APOD: 2024 September 9 Á Mars: Moon, Craters, and Volcanos
- APOD: 2024 June 5 Á Shadow of a Martian Robot
- Ares 3 Landing Site: The Martian Revisited
- The Shadow of Ingenuity s Damaged Rotor Blade
- APOD: 2023 November 7 Á A Martian Dust Devil Spins By