hey when is the next time we can see mars in the night sky?

Question

i heard it was augest 27 at 12 am

Answer 1

Wrong. Mars is on the opposite side of the sun right now, and won't be back in our sky until later in the year. It should reach its next opposition in December.

You may have fallen afoul of the latest internet/e-mail hoax floating around, about how big Mars will supposedly appear. Check it out here:
http://www.snopes.com/science/mars.asp

Answer 2

Mars is clearly visible in the eastern sky at about midnight right now. It shines bright red in the constellation of Taurus. It is NOT on the opposite side of the sun. Infact it is coming closer and closer to earth until December 19th when it will be in the closest position this year.
http://space.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/wspace?tbody=499&vbody=399&month=8&day=27&year=2007&hour=00&minute=00&fovmul=1&rfov=2&bfov=30&porbs=1&showsc=1
http://www.heavens-above.com/skychart.asp?Y=2007&M=8&D=25&H=0&N=12&Lat=59.333&Lng=18.050&Loc=Stockholm&TZ=CET&SL=on&SN=on&BW=0&SZ=500

Answer 3

You heard wrong. Mars is too close to the Sun now. On September 3rd, it will be about 84 degrees leading the Sun, in the morning sky. It will rise about 5 hours 30 minutes before dawn, and should be high enough for viewing about 2 hours later.

By late September, the viewing will be better; Mars will rise about 6 hours before dawn. But it's not really in the "night" sky until October 11th, when it rises about 6 hours 50 minutes before dawn. It will be brightest on December 23rd.

Answer 4

You can see it now if you are up really late. Mars makes it's next close approach to Earth this winter, when it will look like a bright star. The idea that you can only see it one day or that it will look like another Moon this August is all nonsense from people who do not know anything about astronomy.

Answer 5

How about tonight after midnight, low in the eastern Sky.
But I would give it a couple more hours to let it get higher above the horizon in order to get a better look at it.
When it first rises at 12:06 am, the atmospheric haze and light pollution will make observing conditions very bad.

Adolph

Answer 6

Aug 27 was in 2003 not this year. Read below.

Mars begins to brighten significantly from late August/early September of 2007 and reaches opposition (i.e. its brightest for this apparition) on the night of December 24th 2007. Note that, although opposition takes place on this date, Mars' closest approach to the Earth (at 0.5893 Astronomical Units or 88.15 million kms) takes place a little earlier - on December 19th - because of its eccentric orbit.



Mars sightings:
2005 Opp: Nov 7 (Ari).
2006 SupCon: Oct 23.
2007 Opp: Dec 24 (Gem).
2008 SupCon: Dec 5.
2010 Opp: Jan 29 (Cnc).


Because of its eccentric orbit, Mars' distance from the Earth varies considerably from one opposition to the next, which typically take place about every 2 years and 7 weeks. Mars' brightest (and best) oppositions occur in groups of two or three which repeat in a cycle of about 16 years, when its orbit brings it closest to the Earth (35 million miles/56 million kms distant). In the opposition of 2003, Mars came closer to the Earth than it had been for almost 60,000 years. For about six weeks either side of opposition, Mars can clearly be seen in twilight; at its brightest, Mars outshines the star Sirius, but even at its more distant oppositions it outshines the star Arcturus (magnitude -0.04). Note that because of Mars' eccentric orbit, the dates of its opposition and its closest approach to the Earth can differ by up to two weeks.

When it is on the far side of its orbit from the Earth (i.e. in between oppositions) Mars appears as an unremarkable, orange-red 'star', shining only about as bright as the stars of Orion's Belt for much of the time.

Through a telescope, Mars typically appears amber or salmon-pink in color. It is a difficult planet to observe - despite its relative closeness - since it is only about half the size of the Earth. Under good atmospheric seeing conditions, small telescopes will reveal one or other of its polar caps and some bluish-grey surface markings.

Mars has two asteroid-like moons, Phobos and Deimos. They are too faint to be seen with binoculars and can only be seen with medium and large-sized telescopes around opposition - and even then, only when their orbits carry them well clear of the planet's bright disk. A device known as an occulting bar is often used to conceal Mars from view in the telescopic eyepiece, allowing the moons to be spotted with greater ease.

Answer 7

It's a hoax, mars is visible but it's pale in comparaison to venus.

Answer 8

You are right. They should line up nice and bright. The moon and mars, that is.