The Planets

Mars

Mars is noticeably orange in color and is generally easy to locate. It's brighter than most stars (approximately magnitude +1). Mars is positioned for viewing every two years. In 2003 it was closer to Earth than it had been in thousands of years, and it presented outstanding viewing opportunities. On calm nights with steady seeing I am able to make out surface detail with my 4-½" scope.

Mars will become visible in the morning sky before sunrise in November 2004, but it won't reach opposition (opposite from the sun - highest point in the sky at midnight) until November 2005. Mars will not be as close to Earth in 2005 as it was in 2003; however, it will be higher in the sky so every astronomy enthusiast will have the opportunity to see and enjoy Mars. Mars is an intriguing world that offers both casual and serious observers many challenges and delights. An incredible wealth of observing information can be found at the Mars section of the Association of Lunar & Planetary Observers website.

The freeware software program, Meridian v4.8, can be used to predict and identify surface features on the Red Planet.

Updated on 2005-03-03