APOD: Mars near Opposition (2014 Apr 11)

[APOD Robot]

Mars near Opposition

Explanation: Tonight Mars is between opposition (April 8) and closest approach (April 14) looping through the constellation Virgo opposite the Sun in the night sky. That makes it prime season for telescopic views of the the Red Planet, like this one from April 3rd. The clear, sharp image was captured with a high-speed digital camera and 16-inch diameter telescope from Assis, Brazil, Planet Earth. Mars' north polar cap is at the top left. Also visible are whitish orographic clouds - water vapor clouds condensing in the cold atmosphere above the peaks of Mars' towering volcanos. The exact dates of closest approach and opposition are slightly different because of the planet's elliptical orbit. Still, get your telescope out on the night of closest approach (April 14/15) and you can view both Mars and a total eclipse of the Moon. Mars will be about 1/100th the angular size of the Moon.

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[Nitpicker]

Beautiful and sharp. (Good thing you mentioned the size difference as they'll both look reddish during the eclipse.)

[Ann]

Beautiful and sharp. (Good thing you mentioned the size difference as they'll both look reddish during the eclipse.)

Thanks for the helpful tip, Nitpicker! Telling the Moon from Mars can really be a problem.

Ann

[Anthony Barreiro]

Wow, that's a beautiful image. I've been looking at Mars through small telescopes (100 mm to 200 mm aperture) for the past few months, and occasionally I've been able to make out the north polar ice cap and see some broad albedo features, but nothing like the detail and definition seen in this stacked video image. It's interesting to compare what can be seen visually with what shows up with skillful digital image acquisition and processing. I'm grateful that photographers are able to share the fruits of their labor. Visual observation is a more intimate personal experience. Nobody else sees what you see through your own eyes. Although knowing what you're looking at, having seen some images, and knowing what to look for will certainly influence the experience.

[Boomer12k]

Golly....I wish I could get as good a shot as that....weather is still a tad chilly and might be cloudy...but I saw it very well last night....but too chilly to get out the scope. Would really like to.....maybe just time to "MAN UP"....


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[DavidLeodis]

It's a lovely image of Mars. I am though confused as to when it was taken. The explanation states April 3rd and in the image’s Exif data that I found it stated the image create date (which I take to be that when an image was acquired, unless otherwise) was “April 3, 2014 11:48:10PM (timezone is 3 hours behind GMT)”. The explanation however had a link to a set of images of Mars in Fabio and Gabriela Carvalho’s website and the image used for the APOD was there in a pair (showing the view as in the APOD and also orientated differently) that was labelled “Mars – April 02, 2014 02:37UT” (the Exif data was not available).

[Nitpicker]

It's a lovely image of Mars. I am though confused as to when it was taken. The explanation states April 3rd and in the image’s Exif data that I found it stated the image create date (which I take to be that when an image was acquired, unless otherwise) was “April 3, 2014 11:48:10PM (timezone is 3 hours behind GMT)”. The explanation however had a link to a set of images of Mars in Fabio and Gabriela Carvalho’s website and the image used for the APOD was there in a pair (showing the view as in the APOD and also orientated differently) that was labelled “Mars – April 02, 2014 02:37UT” (the Exif data was not available).

Both date/time combinations would have offered very close to the same view of Mars. I would trust the time stamp displayed on the image: “Mars – April 02, 2014 02:37UT” over the EXIF data, especially since it is earlier. Various software will delete, reset or modify EXIF data.

[DavidLeodis]

Thanks Nitpicker for your help.

Sorry for not responding earlier but for whatever reason the email informing me of your reply on April 15 was dated April 17 at 22:49 and I only opened it a few moments ago (April 18 at about 11:00 BST).

[Nitpicker]

I'm in Queensland, mate. We're half a day ahead and several decades behind. Not sure the internet can handle the time warp.