by APOD Robot » Tue Oct 06, 2020 4:05 am
Mars Approach 2020
Explanation: Look to the east just after sunset tonight and you'll see a most impressive Mars. Tonight,
Mars will appear its biggest and brightest of the year, as Earth passes closer to the
red planet than it has in over two years -- and will be again for another two years. In a week,
Mars will be almost as bright -- but at
opposition, meaning that it will be directly opposite the Sun. Due to the slightly oval shape of the orbits of
Mars and Earth,
closest approach and opposition occur on slightly different days. The
featured image sequence shows how the angular size of
Mars has grown during its approach over the past few months.
Noticeably orange,
Mars is now visible nearly all night long, reflecting more sunlight toward
Earth than either
Saturn or
Jupiter. Even at its closest and largest, though,
Mars will still appear over
100 times smaller, in diameter, than a
full moon.
[url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap201006.html] [img]https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_201006.jpg[/img] [size=150]Mars Approach 2020[/size][/url]
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