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The planet will be in opposition to the sun on Friday, July 27, which means that it will face the sun in the sky of the Earth, only 51 days before it crosses perihelion, the point the closest to the sun. its orbit. As a result, the minimum distance from Mars to Earth will be reduced to about 57.58 million kilometers on July 30, when the apparent disk diameter of the planet will be as large as 24.3 arc seconds, almost the more than you can get, 25.1 arc seconds, reports Space.com.
On that day, the red planet will shine at a magnitude of -2.8, twice as bright as Jupiter, but weaker than Venus. Looking through a telescope with an eyepiece that with 75 magnifications, the disc of Mars will appear as large as the disc of the moon to the naked eye. However, Mars will be further south when it is at its best; will be in the constellation Capricorn Zodiac, with a declination of -25.8 degrees.
As such, observers in northern latitudes will never see the planet high in the sky, so atmospheric turbulence will affect the view more than normal. On the contrary, observers from South America, South Africa and Australia will be offered an exceptional viewing opportunity, since the planet will pass almost directly over their heads.
The Martian telescopic disc will appear at least 14 seconds in diameter for nearly five months, from May 24 to October 13, more than it has been in such a long time. for more than a decade. On March, this period closely corresponds to the arrival of autumn (May 22) and winter (October 16) in the northern hemisphere of the planet, and in the spring and summer summer in its southern hemisphere.
Mars has seasons like Earth's, but they last on average almost twice as long. Since the south pole of Mars is tilted back to Earth from now until the end of 2018, the southern polar cap will present itself to us in an excellent manner.
Source: 20minutes
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