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At 3:50 am EDT (0750 GMT), Mars reached the closest point to Earth in its orbit. The red planet had not been so close to Earth since August 2003. (And when that last approach occurred, it was the first time in 60,000 years that Mars was so close. ) This event follows the event March of last week: July 27), the red planet has reached the opposition with the sun and remained at its peak in the night sky until Monday evening and early today (July 31st). [Mars at Opposition 2018: How to See It]
According to NASA, Mars was 35.8 million miles (57.6 million kilometers) from Earth at its closest point this morning. In August 2003, Mars was a smidge closer: 34.6 million miles (55.6 million km). Mars will not be so close to Earth until 2287, according to an update from NASA. Mars will reach the opposition again before that. In October 2020, the red planet will reach the opposition and will be 38.6 million miles (62.1 million km) from Earth, according to NASA's update.
You can see March tonight looking at the southwest sky. If time permits, Mars will be visible down on the southwest horizon, with the moon shining at the top left. Saturn will also be visible, as shown in the map below.
If you missed it, do not believe the crazy stories you can hear about its apparent size. Mars was not as big as the moon in the night sky – not even close; this story is a hoax that appears in one way or another every year. In fact, at the closest approach to Mars, the moon was still 75 times larger than the red planet, while Mars appeared as an extremely bright, star-like object that was visible for much of the day. of the night. But if you have slept throughout the event, do not worry! Mars will still be particularly bright and close tonight, so be sure to look up!
You can even look back at some of the views of Mars' closest point in a webcast that filmed the live event of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.
You can watch the webcast, which was hosted by Laura Danly, online again. In the video, you can see telescopic images of the red planet, conversations between scientists observing the night sky and appearances of several people, including Tim Russ, the actor of "Star Trek: Voyager" and Buzz Aldrin , former astronaut of NASA. . Aldrin is an active supporter of humanity exploring further into the solar system and landing a crewed mission on Mars. In fact, Aldrin spoke passionately about the webcast of a future hope to return to the Moon first, and then to Mars.
"We should establish an occupation on the moon," said Aldrin in the live video on the Earth satellite he has already walked on. He went on to say that "we have to occupy the moon as we prepare with these lessons to start landing and stay on Mars."
Aldrin added that achieving these ambitious goals will require innovation, and he hopes that he can "inspire the next generation" to take these massive measures.
At its closest approach, Mars shone at a magnitude of minus 2.8, which is twice as bright as Jupiter but lower than Venus (smaller amplitudes mean that it looks brighter) . In fact, Mars will remain brighter than Jupiter in the night sky until around September 7th.
Mars will become weaker around mid-August as the two planets move one towards the other around the sun. So, even if it will not stay long in the night sky, it will be bright enough for everyone to take a look at it.
Saturn has also made a connection with Earth this summer, and the surrounded planet remains particularly visible to those who roam the sky for the best sites.
If you missed the closest approach to Mars, you can still see the planet shine tonight, with friends at an observational party, online or even in a mobile app. If you can not wait to see Mars make an exceptionally close approach to Earth, the next approach to the Red Planet will be October 6, 2020.
Email Chelsea Gohd at cgohd @ space.com [19659014] or follow it @chelsea_gohd . Follow us Facebook and Google+ . Original article on Space.com.
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