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Mars is shiny, bold and golden in hue, dominating the sky all night while the month of July ends in August 2018. The fourth planet of the Sun has reached "opposition" on Friday , facing the Sun of the Earth and rising at sunset. Mars remains awake all night and sets off when the sun rises on the northeast horizon.
In the early evening, look for Mars in the southeast. The planet is at its highest in the southern sky around 1 am in the morning, the summer time. Seen from mid-America latitudes, Mars is not very high in the sky this time; you do not need to chew your neck to see it !!
The planet is unmistakable. Not only is it brilliant, nothing in the sky this brilliant color compares. We call it the "red planet" because it's redder than blue to be sure. Nor are whites "white" and blacks "black".
Why an imaginative writer said that the supposed Martians are "green" I have no idea but if there were any, they probably would not be really green! Back to science How would you judge the color of Mars? Is it red-orange? D & # 39; gold? Rusty?
Mars is not always so spectacular because of its orbit and the orbit of the Earth. Mars revolves around the Sun in about two Earth years, so that it catches up and gets closer to Earth about every two years. Nevertheless, both planets have elliptical and non-circular orbits, so the distance between plants varies greatly –
This year, Mars is "only" at 38.5 million miles. He is closest to Earth on Tuesday.
My old car has a way to go. I thought 100,000 miles was something.
Most of the time, Mars appears in the sky like a middle star, with a red hue, and almost nobody in the audience would notice it. When he is in opposition, it is hard not to notice. 2018 marks the closest Mars since 2004, when it was even closer, and brighter.
Mars reaches a magnitude -2.8 in brightness, more than any star at night and similar to the giant planet Jupiter when it is closest
At this very moment a rather small telescope magnifying about 60x will show a small disk. A telescope of about 6 inches aperture and larger, with higher magnification, stable atmosphere (very important) and experience, can reveal amazing surface details.
You can be successful with smaller telescopes too. With a 3-inch telescope, I was delighted to catch the bright white fleece cap, and at least waves, dark spots on the red surface of the desert. The dark areas of Mars are regions of varying contrast. They are represented on maps and globes of Mars, with each named feature. The darkest and most obvious feature is "Syrtis Major" and has the shape of a triangle or a corner. It's easier to see in a small telescope. A red filter on the eyepiece helps
Mars runs once in 24 hours, 37 minutes – just above a day of Earth. Every night at the same time, a slightly different part of Mars will be facing you.
Currently, a global dust storm is raging on Mars, making observations more difficult.
I've always compared the sight of a total lunar eclipse to something that Mars would look at in an approaching spacecraft.
Mars has had a mystique about humanity for thousands of years. It bears the name of the Roman god of war. At the end of the 19th century, it became apparent that there were cbads on Mars, an irrigation system of a Martian civilization struggling to survive.
Science fiction writers like HG Wells and Arthur C. Clarke popularized the theme. can be invaded by flying saucers. Instead, we are the invaders – but we come in peace. The space nations of the Earth have Mars well covered with landers, rovers, and surveillance satellites in orbit. Mars has been found to be intriguingly dynamic with plenty of evidence that he once had oceans of water, and possibly thick ice underneath. Microbial Martian life has not been ruled out and the dream of sending astronauts to Mars is alive and well.
Mars remains bright all summer, in autumn, gradually decreasing. The planet will be conveniently placed in the evening sky in August
Last quarter Moon is Saturday
Keep looking!
Peter Becker is editor at The News Eagle in Hawley, PA. Notes are welcome to [email protected]. Please indicate in which newspaper or website you read this column.
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