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The last days of July 2018 bring a double enchantment for the sky lovers, the amateurs and the astronomers.
On July 27, India and many other countries will observe the longest lunar eclipse. the century around midnight, Indian standard time. The moon will be under the shadow of the Earth and totally eclipsed for an hour and 43 minutes! A few days later, another spectacular heavenly event is to fascinate and excite millions of people around the world.
Mars will be the closest to the Earth since July 31, 2003. The red planet will be the brightest since August 2003 approaching the Earth in nearly 60,000 years (since September 24, 57,617 BC) C.)
Mars, the fourth planet of the Sun, orbits the Sun at a greater distance than the Earth. As the distance from the Sun increases, the orbital period also increases. As Earth takes a little over 365 days to circle the Sun, Mars takes 687 days.
Due to the difference in orbital velocity and orbital period, every 26 months, the Earth passes between Mars and the Sun. bring the two on the exactly opposite sides of our planet. This is called March to Opposition
This year March will be at its opposition on July 27, only 51 days before it will cross its perihelion – its closest point to the Sun. in its orbit. Since it will be close enough to Earth at this time, it will appear very bright and will be visible roughly after sunset and will remain in the sky until sunrise.
The Red Planet will shine very well in our night sky. At this moment, it is easier to see the Red Planet clearly with telescopes or even at the naked eye. The Red Planet is approaching on one or two occasions every fifteen or seventeen years.
Because of the elliptical orbits of the planets, Earth and Mars are approaching each other at the moment of opposition. The closest approach to Mars this time will be July 31 and it will be brighter and bigger than it has been since August 2003. The next closest approach to the Red Planet , but not as close as in 2003, will not take place until 2035. getting closer to Earth than in 2003 alone in 2287 (August 29).
On July 31, Mars will be about 57.6 million km from the Earth. In 2003, the distance was 55.7 million km, the closest in almost 60,000 years. The next opposition of Mars will take place on October 6, 2020, but it will be a little further, 61.76 million km from the Earth.
Mars being our neighbor of the solar system, there has been a huge interest in it among the general public, as well as students and scientists. Many space missions were sent to Mars, which provided us with information on the possible presence of water on this site and, subsequently, on the possibility of the presence of life forms in the past. Although no definitive proof of life was discovered on Mars, the idea sparked a lot of interest.
What will happen on July 31 has sparked a lot of excitement among sky lovers and space enthusiasts. and various online forums.
In August 2003, a hoax that Mars would appear as big as the moon became viral. Since then, the hoax resurfaced almost every year around the month of August.
At its closest approach this time, Mars will only measure 24.3 arc seconds and will nowhere close to the size of the moon, which has 75 times more diameter at its onset .
It is prudent to look at Mars at the naked eye. If sky lovers want to see the details, they can use a telescope with a diameter of 4 inches or more. The larger the telescope, the better the resolution of the surface features.
Astronomers have observed a dust storm engulfing Mars. We hope that the storm will subside in time and that the planet can be seen in all its splendor. The current position of Mars is such that the southern polar region and the icecaps that cover it will be visible from the Earth through a medium-sized telescope.
Just after sunset, one must look near the east-south-east bright planet horizon, appearing 1.8 times brighter than the planet's largest solar system, Jupiter.
Wishing everyone a pleasant vision of this heavenly event.
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