24 December: Opposition of Mars
On that date the planet will be in line with the Earth and Sun and from the ground will appear to be opposite the Sun in the sky (at opposition).
This year Mars remains fairly distant from Earth and never comes closer to us than 88 million km (or 55 million miles) but at opposition it will still appear to be brighter than all the other objects in the sky, apart from the Sun, Moon, Venus and Jupiter.
Around midnight, Mars will be high in the south, when it will be an unmistakeable sight to observers in the UK. The planet will look like a bright red dot, located in front of the stars of the constellation of Gemini and above the more familiar grouping of Orion. With moderate-sized telescopes, careful observers should be able to see hints of dusky markings on the Martian surface.
Media Contact
More Information:
http://www.ras.org.ukAll latest news from the category: Physics and Astronomy
This area deals with the fundamental laws and building blocks of nature and how they interact, the properties and the behavior of matter, and research into space and time and their structures.
innovations-report provides in-depth reports and articles on subjects such as astrophysics, laser technologies, nuclear, quantum, particle and solid-state physics, nanotechnologies, planetary research and findings (Mars, Venus) and developments related to the Hubble Telescope.
Newest articles
High-energy-density aqueous battery based on halogen multi-electron transfer
Traditional non-aqueous lithium-ion batteries have a high energy density, but their safety is compromised due to the flammable organic electrolytes they utilize. Aqueous batteries use water as the solvent for…
First-ever combined heart pump and pig kidney transplant
…gives new hope to patient with terminal illness. Surgeons at NYU Langone Health performed the first-ever combined mechanical heart pump and gene-edited pig kidney transplant surgery in a 54-year-old woman…
Biophysics: Testing how well biomarkers work
LMU researchers have developed a method to determine how reliably target proteins can be labeled using super-resolution fluorescence microscopy. Modern microscopy techniques make it possible to examine the inner workings…
