Astronomy: time to look at Mars!

Perhaps you recently noticed this star in the sky with lights, if not red, then at least luminous. It is no more and no less than the famous Mars! This planet of the solar system, visible to the naked eye all year round, is especially bright at the moment. This change in luminosity is due to differences in distance between our two planets. They are either approaching or receding, because one and the other do not orbit the Sun for so long: 365 days for the Earth, 686 for Mars.

Every 26 months or so, the two planets align with our star so that the Earth is in the middle of the axis. Mars is said to be in opposition. Here’s what will happen on December 8th. Then the planets will be separated by “only” 82 million kilometers. The few weeks leading up to and following such an event are especially favorable for observing the red planet with the naked eye, through binoculars, a telescope, or a spyglass.

This time the conditions are perfect: Mars rises at sunset, stays high in the sky for a long time before setting at sunrise.

On December 8, the day of opposition, it will also be possible to see the eclipse of the planet by the full Moon: around 6:41 am on the same day, Mars will pass behind the Earth’s satellite, and reappear an hour later. Referring to the “exceptional phenomenon”, the Institute of Celestial Mechanics and Ephemeris Calculation, located at the Paris Observatory, even posted a special website on the web. The next opposition of Mars will take place in January 2025, but the planet will be a little less close to us … by tens of millions of kilometers!