Catch Mars this Month

     Last month, Mars reached opposition, coming closer to earth than it has been for a while. This month, Mars continues to shine brightly in the sky, but it is quickly fading as it moves farther from Earth. At opposition, Mars grew to a diameter of about 14 arc-seconds, and now is still at a respectable 12''. By the end of April, however, Mars will be around 10'', and in one more month, it will lose another 2''. So what does this mean? Well, if you have a telescope and want to see Mars, you'll want to catch it soon while it's diameter is still large enough to show surface detail. The amount of detail you can see also depends on how big your telescope's aperture is.

     I could see and photograph these surface features with my 8 inch Schmidt Cassegrain telescope in late February. Here's the picture taken with a webcam (more on webcam astrophotography later). Notice the dark, so-called "albedo" features on the Red Planet's surface. You can also faintly see the white polar ice cap on the upper-left of the red planet's disc:

     If you don't have a telescope, you can still see Mars as a bright "star" in the south-eastern horizon after sunset. Look for a "star" in this direction, which in Lebanon will appear approximately 60 degrees above the horizon, or about two-thirds the way up to the highest point in the sky. Even with the naked eye, Mars has an unmistakable red tint which, along with its brightness, should allow you to distinguish it from surrounding stars.

     If you have a camera and tripod ready, you can try some wide-field astrophotography! Here's a camera-on-tripod picture I took of Mars as it neared its great opposition in 2003 (which was one of the closest approaches of Mars in history). Mars is the brightest "star" in the picture, between the trees:  

     Mars will again appear close to Earth in 2014. At that time, it will again reach a respectably large size. But for now, April's your best shot at Earth's red neighbor!

Thanks for reading :)

and clear skies!