Next Sunday, October 30, Mars will be positioned 69.4 million kilometers away from Earth, a relatively small distance in the context of our galaxy. This occurrence will not repeat for a long time, at least not until 2018.
According to scientists, on this day, Mars will be observable with the naked eye. The planet will appear in the sky as a bright, large yellow-orange star in the eastern horizon.
If weather conditions on Earth and Mars are favorable, especially in areas where Martian dust storms commonly occur, you will only need a simple telescope to observe the “Red Planet” in considerable detail.
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Mars Surface |
The French magazine, Ciel et Espace, reports that a telescope costing no more than 150 euros will allow you to admire some of the distinctive features of Mars.
With a specialized telescope, it will be possible to observe the mountains on the planet, such as Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system, which stands at 26,000 meters high. In fact, if the weather is clear on the night of October 30, we may even have the opportunity to see Mars’ two moons, Phobos and Deimos.
On August 27, 2003, Earth and Mars were “in close proximity” at a distance of 55.76 million kilometers, an exceptionally short distance that will not occur again for another 60,000 years.
(According to TPO, NewsRu)
