What date will be mars be most visable in August I have not seen it all month and I know that it is coming near the earth. another thing...where will mars be in relation to the moon in the sky.
2007-08-25 16:00:36 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
This is rumour control and here are the facts:
Mars is now rising in the early hours of the morning. It's rising becomes a few minutes earlier each night.
The opposition of Mars (closest approach to Earth this orbit) is in December (or January, maybe someone can correct me), not August.
The email referred to is a leftover from 2003, when the opposition was in August. And the announcement was changed in the email to make unknowing people think that Mars would appear the size of the moon. It wasn't; it was just like a bright star.
The opposition in December this year (January?) is not as close as 2003 anyway.
And do people really think that Mars will suddenly appear that big on one night only? Wouldn't it be getting larger bit by bit?
2007-08-25 16:20:13 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mars can currently be found in the constellation Taurus. It rises just after midnight each night.
The Moon and Mars will be close together in the sky during the first week of September, while the Moon is in its last quarter.
The closest approach between the Earth and Mars this year will not happen until December 26 or so. Mars will be about 75 million km away.
Despite what you may have read in a recent email chain letter, Mars is not going to be anywhere near the Earth this August, nor will it ever be close enough to appear as large as the Moon.
2007-08-25 16:18:00 · answer #2 · answered by stork5100 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mars never gets more than 35 million miles from Earth.
In December, it will be at its closest ("opposition"). Mars opposition occurs every 780 Earth days or so.
Mars is visible in the night sky most of the year - the only time its not visible is when Mars is near or behind the sun. Right now, Mars rises in the east after midnight - probably why you haven't seen it much this month. Right now, its magnitude .3 and visible in the eastern sky after midnight. It will be within about 10 degrees of the moon during the full moon Aug. 28 (but still no more than a bright reddish pinpoint of light).
2007-08-25 16:25:51 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you get up about 4:00AM you can see Mars as an extra star in Taurus. Mars will be closest to Earth this winter. It will not appear as large as the Moon at the time. That incorrect story dates to August of 2003 when Mars did come closer to Earth than at any other time in the last 50,000 years. But even then it did not look like the Moon. It never gets close enough to look like anything other than a bright star.
2007-08-25 16:32:01 · answer #4 · answered by campbelp2002 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you've seen an email about Mars being especially close in August, that's a hoax, based on something that happened in 2003. Right now, Mars is visible in the East in the hours before dawn, in the constellation Taurus. The moon will be in that neighborhood around September 4th, when it will be just past last quarter.
2007-08-25 16:11:20 · answer #5 · answered by injanier 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
27th of August 12:30 A.M.
our time KSA that's (Saudi Arabia) +3 GMT
2007-08-26 01:57:00 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋