Mars opposition *and* perihelion,

Cranbrook Inst. of Science ^ | 7/22/03 | staff

[Zavien Doombringer]

Now I can procede with my attack on earth!

[Judith Anne]

Thank you for posting this. I had heard that Mars was 1/40th the brightness of the full moon at this closest approach, is that correct? Should North Americans look in the south eastern sky around midnight? Any further info?

[CFW]

My bro-in-law emailed me this info. He and his sons have developed an interest in this while working on a boy scout project (in other words, a good excuse for a campout). I'll see what else I can find out.

[CFW]

Here is a link with more info.

Space.com

[sandydipper]

Thanks - we've been looking with a 4" Newtonian Reflector. IMO water will be found.

[Fiddlstix]

Ping

[Consort]

This combination of Mars opposition *and* perihelion,... makes Mars favorable for viewing...."

Well, if "opposition" is more favorable, why don't they call it "agreement" instead of "opposition"?

[Judith Anne]

Duh! (slaps forehead) I know about that site! Thanks again. ;-D

[CFW]

Heck, I'm still trying to figure out the perihelion.

[vollmond]

So Mars has broken away from the peloton to get to the perihelion?

[Camachee]

First you write it, then you see it. :0)

[Atlas Sneezed]

The closest in 60,000 years!

http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/article_985_1.asp

[CFW]

Looks like it's gonna be pretty neat. Unfortunately, I'm an "early to bed, early to rise" person, so I'll probably miss it. LOL

[19th LA Inf]

Don't give up yet. "Opposition" occurs when a planet rises at the exact time the sun sets, so by full darkness in late August, Mars should be nicely visible in the southeast.

[Lou L]

Thank you for posting this. I had heard that Mars was 1/40th the brightness of the full moon at this closest approach, is that correct? Should North Americans look in the south eastern sky around midnight? Any further info?

Without getting into a technical explanation of visual magnitude, Mars may not be as bright as the full moon, but having viewed it the other night, I can tell you that there's no mistaking its bright red glow in the sky. Currently, those North Americans around 40 N latitude, can see it rise in the ESE around midnight, and by dawn, it will have moved across the southern sky. As we get into August, Mars will appear earlier in the evening, for a longer period of viewing.

No serious astronomical equipment is necessary to view Mars; a small pair of binoculars should provide a nice image--you'll probably be able to see a small whitish area on the southern pole--that would be one of the ice caps.

Any small telescope will provide terrific views, the ice caps, and even surface makings should be visible. As someone else posted, the Sky and Telescope site has some great references that will give more observation details.

Keep in mind as with any type of astronomical viewing, the closer Mars gets to Earth, the better chances of cloudy or inclement weather in your neighborhood! :)

[Atlas Sneezed]

"No serious astronomical equipment is necessary to view Mars; a small pair of binoculars should provide a nice image--you'll probably be able to see a small whitish area on the southern pole--that would be one of the ice caps."

Note that summer in the South of Mars is approaching, so that as the planet nears opposition with Earth, the cap will be shrinking.

[dr_lew]

No serious astronomical equipment is necessary to view Mars; a small pair of binoculars should provide a nice image--you'll probably be able to see a small whitish area on the southern pole--that would be one of the ice caps.

Well, with a diameter of 6.8 million meters and a distance of 36 million miles, it's equivalent to observing a 7 inch ball a mile away. Do you think you could make out the features on someones face from a mile away with a small pair of binoculars ?

[dr_lew]

Well, with a diameter of 6.8 million meters and a distance of 36 million miles, it's equivalent to observing a 7 inch ball a mile away. Do you think you could make out the features on someones face from a mile away with a small pair of binoculars ?

Mars is well up now, at 12:30 AM CDT in Chicagoland, and about 42 million miles away tonight. I just tried observing it with my Celestron 9X63 binoculars and my Bushnell 8X21's . These are 9 and 8 times magnification, with 63 mm and 21 mm objectives. The Celestron is a big magnificent pair of binoculars I got for comet observing, and the Bushnell you can enclose in one hand, but it's almost the same power.

With the 9X63's Mars looks very big, but this is an illusion caused by its brightness. If I stop down the objectives by masking them with my hands, it shrinks to pretty much a dot, although my eyes aren't the best anymore. Even the 8X21's show a false enlargement, and I can see shrinkage using the masking technique with them also.

[Calvin Locke]

I saw an ad for a pair of binoculars last month or so. 6" reflectors. $6K+ IIRC.

I got a pair of 12x63mm. I'm thinking I should have gotten the 9x.