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The Earth and Mars have not been as close as they are now for 15 years, providing space seekers with impressive and bright views of the red planet.
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Astronomers from around the world pointed their telescopes to the sky on July 31, then that Mars was at a distance of 57.6 million kilometers from our planet.
"The Red Planet and Earth have not been so close since 2003 and will not be so close until 2035," NASA said.
A privileged view was obtained at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, where it was possible to admire, simple view, a bright orange dot in the sky, according to a live broadcast organized to commemorate the Heavenly event.
"Mars is invading us tonight," commented director Ed Krupp. The closest point on Earth in Mars' elliptical orbit was at 11:00 GMT on Tuesday, the US space agency said.
Astronomers are still interested in the red planet's moving patterns to more accurately determine the best times to launch a spaceship.
When the Sun, the Earth and Mars are aligned, with our planet in the middle, a phenomenon called "opposition" occurs, which offers the clearest view of Mars. [19659008] "Around the opposition phase, a planet is at its closest distance from Earth in a given year," says NASA. The Earth and Mars are lined up in opposition about every two years.
"That is why most NASA missions on the red planet are made at least two years apart, to take into account the advantage of a distance the closer. "
No record has been broken this year. The minimum possible distance between Earth and Mars, of about 54.6 million kilometers, is rarely reached.
In 2003, Mars was "only" to "55.7 million kilometers from Earth", the closest to Earth.The next time Mars will be as close to Earth as it is 39, in 2003, it should not be before the year 2287
.March 31 this July, a consolation: the planet will remain visible in the starry sky over the next few months.
Source: AFP
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