Mars Opposition
Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2018 7:57 am
It looks like this summer's Mars opposition will be a good one, the best since 2003 which I remember vividly. For those of you new to the astronomy game, in astronomy "opposition" is used in reference to solar system objects that are further from the sun than us (Mars, Jupiter, sometimes the Moon). Opposition is the point in the object's orbit where it is opposite the sun's position from our perspective. A picture being worth more than a thousand words in this case...
The important thing about opposition to us is that when a planet is at opposition it is the closest it can get to us- and yes, in the case of Mars, it will look substantially larger to us. The difference in distance is signifigant, especially for a small planet like Mars. When Mars is way on the other side of the Sun it can be over 200,000,000 miles away (and looks tiny in a telescope)... but when Mars is at opposition it can be as close as 35,000,000 miles away (and YES it will look much larger in our telescopes).
Mars opposition will occur at the end of July this year (it happens every 2 years roughly) and the effect is most pronounced for a few weeks before to a few weeks after so be sure to plan to observe Mars mid-summer and for you imagers time to brush up on your planetary skills!
The important thing about opposition to us is that when a planet is at opposition it is the closest it can get to us- and yes, in the case of Mars, it will look substantially larger to us. The difference in distance is signifigant, especially for a small planet like Mars. When Mars is way on the other side of the Sun it can be over 200,000,000 miles away (and looks tiny in a telescope)... but when Mars is at opposition it can be as close as 35,000,000 miles away (and YES it will look much larger in our telescopes).
Mars opposition will occur at the end of July this year (it happens every 2 years roughly) and the effect is most pronounced for a few weeks before to a few weeks after so be sure to plan to observe Mars mid-summer and for you imagers time to brush up on your planetary skills!