Don’t Miss Mars at Its Brightest!
Last night Mars put on a celestial show, beaming as crisp and clear as it will be until 2018. Missed the event? Don’t worry you can still view Mars in the night sky; it will be the second or third brightest depending on the night.
Even though Mars can still be viewed, it’s not the same as actually seeing it. Well don’t fret and live with regret as we’ve got the full covered from Slooth’s Mars Opposition show.
This hour-long presentation was filmed live from the Canary Islands in Spain and includes conversations between Bob Berman (Astronomy Magazine) and Slooh astronomer Paul Cox. In this show Mars appears as a bright dusty-red disc and is truly a fascinating, must-see video.
European Southern Observatory / M. Kornmesser, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Quick Mars Facts
Before you embark on this journey, here are some quick facts about that dusty red planet;
- Mars and Earth have approximately the same land mass
- Mars is home to the tallest mountain in the Solar System. Olympus Mon measures in at 13 miles high (21 km) and 372 miles in diameter (600 km).
- Another mission to Mars is planned in 2016. NASA’s InSight robotic lander mission launched in March and is due to land sometime in September 2016.
- If you were on Mars, the Sun would appear about half the size as it does here on Earth.
- In the next 20 to 40 million years, Mars’ largest moon, Phobos, will be torn apart by gravitational forces. The result will be the creation of a ring around Mars that could last for 100 million years.
Now grab a beverage and a relaxing seat to enjoy the show…
Want more fascinating facts about Mars? Read our past article; Mars, The King of Dust Devils. It is really cool!