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Saturday 12 October 2013

When Mars is close to Earth again? Oppositions Calendar of the Red Planet.

12 frames, at 95% best quality in Registax.
185 frames, in Registax.
90 frames, in Registax.
121 frames, in Registax.
44 frames, in Registax.


Mars, is a planet that is much nicer to see it at opposition ,  when the Earth is located between the Sun and Mars. At that time the two planets are closest one to the other , which means that will be seen a lot brighter in the sky , and with a Newtonian telescope starting at 8 in. mirror , its surface features can be seen , appearing with a reddish color and ice caps at the poles .

It is true that not all oppositions of Mars ( or any other planet ) has the same distance from Earth , even if the Earth is located between the Sun and the Red Planet .

On April 8, 2014 , at the next opposition , the planet will be at 92.39 million km. from Earth , compared to March 3, 2012 previous opposition , when the distance between the two planets was 100.78 million km.

You have to know that Mars is in opposition every 2 years and 2 months , and regardless of the distance which would be at that time, it worth the observations especially through a telescope, because weather conditions can make you observe it more clearly than in another year , when maybe was closer to us , but the sky was covered, or with a bad atmosphere .

In the pictures above , taken from a video processed in Registax , Mars was caught on 24 March 2012, 20 days after the opposition of March 3 .

When Mars made ​​a complete orbit around the Sun , the Earth almost finishes the second one , being closer to the Sun. It is not hard to undarstand the climatic conditionss that the Red Planet endures being so far from the Sun . It remains a mystery whether it had or it has life , but for sure we are approaching toward the truth. Our goal is definitely to discover that there is or was life someday.

Want to organize your schedule for the next time Mars will be closest to Earth? Here are some upcoming dates below.

 Calendar of times when it was and when will be the opposition Mars:

January 10, 2010 at 99.33 million km.
March 3, 2012 to 100.78 million km.
April 8th, 2014 at 92.39 million km.
May 22, 2016 at 75.28 million km.
July 27th, 2018 at 57.59 million km. (best observation)
October 13, 2020 at 62.07 million km.
December 8th, 2022 at 81.45 million km.

Optics: Celestron C8-Newtonian telescope, 20mm Plossl, 2x Barlow
Mount: CG5 (EQ5)
Camera: Sony CX130
Filter: no
Date: 24.03.2012

Distance from Earth 106 214 488 km
Location: Baia Mare, Romania
Processing: Images in Registax, FastStone Image Viewer


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