New Mars Forums

tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 19,235

Re: Martian Calender - I have created a martian calender...

===
Today on Mars: 0037/24/18 Wednesday Days of the week offset 3 with Earth.  (count from Mars to Earth (updated 2024/08/28))

Today on Earth: 2024/11/02 Saturday Earth Date) Post Title: Today on Mars   [Aphelion occurred May 30, 2023 Earth Calendar]
====*=

Per http://www-mars.lmd.jussieu.fr/mars/tim … _time.html also see: in-the-sky.org for opposition/perigee/aphelion

Martian Year: 37  Martian Astronomical Month in 12 month format: 12 <<== The Astronomical  year will increment when longitude reaches 360 degrees

===
Solar Longitude: 354.6 Sol Number: 659  Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0037659
Solar Longitude: 354.1 Sol Number: 658  Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0037658
Solar Longitude: 353.6 Sol Number: 657  Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0037657
<<#

Note that Solar Longitude measurement varies as a function of location in orbit.  Ls 0 is the moment when the Sun appears to transit from one hemisphere to the other.  Update from Mars.NASA.gov (The Sun crosses the equator of Mars (Vernal Equinox)). The transition itself is a function of the tilt of an object with respect to the Solar plane. Per squarewidget.com, Hipparchus created the celestial coordinate system we use today.

Note#2: https://theskylive.com/mars-tracker  This web site shows the astronomical position of Mars as seen from Earth
Todo: At next Aphelion/Perihelion record the Mars data J00##### (and set Search term)
Perihelion occurred at Ls 251 on Sol 485 – Earth Date 2024/05/08 Next: (estimated) 2026/03/06
Perihelion occurred at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2022/06/21 Next: (actual) 2024/05/08
Aphelion occurred at--- Ls 071 on Sol 152.  Aphelion Earth Dates: Earlier: 2017/10/07, 2015/11/20
Aphelion occurred near Ls 070 on Sol 153 (per www.planetary.org)

Note#3: The computations below are dependent upon both the computations provided by the reference web site and by accuracy of recording of the time of observations.  The calculations use tenths of hours.  The Sun Distance needs to be captured at the moment the time increments to a given tenth.

Note on data below: The figure quoted after distance is a rate of progress along the orbital path [exact meaning to be determined]
Minus prefix means Mars is approaching the Sun.  Plus prefix means Mars is moving away from the Sun.
The figure computed to the right of "Difference" is the rate of change of the distance to Sun. Increasing to Aphelion/Decreasing to Perihelion.

===
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com:   231,118,435 km [23.8 km/s] Difference is +190067 <= +7919 km/hour at 12 on 11/02 (time 12:00) (24 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com:   230,928,368 km [23.8 km/s] Difference is +190528 <= +7938 km/hour at 12 on 11/01 (time 12:00) (24 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com:   230,737,840 km [23.8 km/s] Difference is +190887 <= +7953 km/hour at 12 on 10/31 (time 12:00) (24 hours)
==*==*==*

Observation: The sky view is ** filled ** with objects and some have been recorded and given identification by humans or their robot assistants
And! ** All ** the location assignments are from the perspective of Earth.  The entire catalog needs to be adjusted when inter-stellar travel begins
The work that lies ahead for the astronomical community is daunting - there is work ahead for centuries
2022/01/19 - All current (existing) stellar catalogs are computed with reference to the Earth.  Another civilization would use it's planet as reference.
Perhaps a Milky Way frame of reference will become necessary at some point. The Earth is as good a Zero point as any, for humans.

=== Mars is in Regular Movement as seen from Earth. Mars is progressing from right to  left in the view from Earth. Slant .005 degrees.
Next up: Star just above path TYC 1388-790-0 RA 08h 7m 54.2s – Day 0
TYC 1388-1397-1 RA 08h 6m 28.7s – Day 0 – Day 1 – Right at Mars –
TYC 1388-688-1 RA 08h 5m 17.9s – Day 0 – Day 1 still ahead of Mars – Day 2 above 18 hours past marker
====*====*>>>

Zoom Out Capability As a general observation ... I've become increasingly interested in knowing what the larger view of the sky might be like.
The site: theskylive.com does a terrific job of matching the view from Earth towards Mars, against a background of actual astronomical plates.
I wish there were a way (or rather, I wish I ** knew ** about a way that may exist) to enlarge the view until the entire galaxy is in view (Zoom out)
Update 2022/12/08 TheSkyLive.com provides a large view of selected objects: Select [Major Bodies] Then select [Information] in the body of interest
Update 2022/12/08 Scroll down to (body) Position and Finder Charts. Field of view is 50x30 degrees.

Note: The curve of the path of Mars as seen against the background of stars is now a line heading left at a downward angle.
As of 2023/01/11, the curve of the path has returned to regular movement to the left border

Light travel time today is between 8 and 9 minutes. Communications delay would be 16+ minutes round trip.

===
Earth Distance: 2024/11/02 150,591,000 (decreasing)
Earth Distance: 2024/11/01 151,619,000 (decreasing)
Earth Distance: 2024/10/31 152,822,000 (decreasing)
#>

Light travel in one second is (about) 300,000 kilometers. The distance covered in one minute is about 18,000,000 kilometers. Estimated light times:
1:18, 2:36, 3:54, 4:72, 5:90, 6:108, 7:126, 8:144,9:162,10:180,11:198,12:216,13:234,14:252,15:270,16:288,17:306,18:324,19:342,20:360,21:378,22:396

Maximum Earth-Mars distance is estimated to be 401 million kilometers (both at apogee and opposite vs Sun)
Mars and Earth were in Opposition (Earth center)  in December of 2022.  The date coincided with a (very rare) occultation of Mars by the Moon.
Mars and Earth were in Conjunction (Sun center) in November of 2023.
Mars and Earth appear to have been as close as they will get in this cycle. 81,454,323 kilometers on J0036644 Time: 4.53 minutes - 9 minutes round trip

In his online interview with Dr. Zubrin at the 2020 Mars Conference, Elon Musk reminded the audience that communications with Mars will necessarily include an intermediary station to handle traffic when the Sun is between Mars and Earth.  Communications delays in that circumstance will increase due to the extra distance to be covered.  Mr. Musk indicated he expects such communication will be handled by laser.  Location would be optimum at poles of solar plane.

Regular movement of Mars as seen from Earth resumed as of 2023/01/13. RA is once again increasing.
According to www.hercampus.com, Retrograde movement began October 30, 2022.
The online solar system display at the link below shows clearly how the Mars movement will occur in months ahead.

This web site offers an online model of the solar system: www.solarsystemscope.com  It requires Chrome 57, Firefox 52 or Safari 10.1. Viewed 2022/10/13: Opposition will occur some time in December of 2022.  Per earthsky.org, the date is December 8, 2022.

This web site offers an online orrery view of the Solar System: https://www.theplanetstoday.com/

===
Sol 659 is in Month 24 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary.
Month  24 extends from Sol 642 through 668. <<== There are 27 days in Month 24. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 57#p154257
Sol 659  is Wednesday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars.   Sol 630 was a Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 667
##

The Next New Year's on Mars will occur when Solar Longitude reaches 360 degrees. <<== The current year on Mars is 37
Per www.planetary.org Year 36 started 2021/02/07 on Earth. Mars Year 37 began 2022/12/27 on Earth.

Days of the Week Alignment:
Days of the week fall behind Earth due to the longer Sol, but they also change when Friday is omitted at the end of a Quarter
337 Earth days were observed to elapse in the 2020 weekday cycle. There were 7 week day transitions and 2 Quarter ends.
The next cycle began on the first Sol of the period of coincidence. The  alignment of weekdays interval is in the range: (310 - 337)
To find the first day of a period of coincidence: Set up: SearchTerm(colon) and (colon)Alignment and J0036* or J0037*
The most recent End-Of-Quarter change occurred: … The search specified above gave 11 pages of results.

For current weather on Mars see:

   ***https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/weather/***
   ***Insight's weather info has been suspended and now is directing to msl*** <<-- Insight's mission is over (2022)

https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/weather/

Per SpaceNut: Here is another web page by NASA containing the latest news releases

https://mars.nasa.gov/news/?page=0&per_ … ope=Latest

All forum members are invited to post significant events for this day.
Events of interest will be ON Mars, or relate to Mars. Examples are launches, landings, discoveries

Standard Month in Mars Business Calendar Copyright ® 2023 NewMars.com Mars Society
Su    Mo    Tu    We    Th    Fr    Sa
1       2      3      4      5      6      7
8       9    10     11    12    13    14
15    16    17     18    19    20    21
22    23    24     25    26    27    28

Recruiting text may be found at the bottom of this post:  http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 57#p154257

Month 24 of 24: Last month of Quarter 4 and Last month of Mars year 37

tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 19,235

Re: Martian Calender - I have created a martian calender...

Place holder for today's Calendar update

Today's snapshot is taken after an elapsed time of 25 hours, due to the end of Daylight Savings Time in the US.

Greenwich, UK 11/03/2024, 13:00:00 Europe/London
Object: Mars   (open sky map)
RA 08h 09m 08.4s Dec +21° 38' 11.3" Appar J2000
Mag: 0.05 (Estimated: JPL)  Const: Cancer
Sun Dist: 231,316,018 km [23.8 km/s]
Earth Dist: 149,634,346 km [16.5 km/s]

Martian Year:    << we are in the final weeks of Year 37
37
Martian Astronomical Month:   
12
Solar longitude Ls:    << Year 38 will begin when longitude reaches 360
355.1
Sol number:    << Year 38 will begin when Sol reaches 668+
660

tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 19,235

Re: Martian Calender - I have created a martian calender...

===
Today on Mars: 0037/24/19 Thursday Days of the week offset 3 with Earth.  (count from Mars to Earth (updated 2024/08/28))

Today on Earth: 2024/11/03 Sunday Earth Date) Post Title: Today on Mars   [Aphelion occurred May 30, 2023 Earth Calendar]
====*=

Per http://www-mars.lmd.jussieu.fr/mars/tim … _time.html also see: in-the-sky.org for opposition/perigee/aphelion

Martian Year: 37  Martian Astronomical Month in 12 month format: 12 <<== The Astronomical  year will increment when longitude reaches 360 degrees

===
Solar Longitude: 355.1 Sol Number: 660  Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0037660
Solar Longitude: 354.6 Sol Number: 659  Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0037659
Solar Longitude: 354.1 Sol Number: 658  Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0037658
<<#

Note that Solar Longitude measurement varies as a function of location in orbit.  Ls 0 is the moment when the Sun appears to transit from one hemisphere to the other.  Update from Mars.NASA.gov (The Sun crosses the equator of Mars (Vernal Equinox)). The transition itself is a function of the tilt of an object with respect to the Solar plane. Per squarewidget.com, Hipparchus created the celestial coordinate system we use today.

Note#2: https://theskylive.com/mars-tracker  This web site shows the astronomical position of Mars as seen from Earth
Todo: At next Aphelion/Perihelion record the Mars data J00##### (and set Search term)
Perihelion occurred at Ls 251 on Sol 485 – Earth Date 2024/05/08 Next: (estimated) 2026/03/06
Perihelion occurred at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2022/06/21 Next: (actual) 2024/05/08
Aphelion occurred at--- Ls 071 on Sol 152.  Aphelion Earth Dates: Earlier: 2017/10/07, 2015/11/20
Aphelion occurred near Ls 070 on Sol 153 (per www.planetary.org)

Note#3: The computations below are dependent upon both the computations provided by the reference web site and by accuracy of recording of the time of observations.  The calculations use tenths of hours.  The Sun Distance needs to be captured at the moment the time increments to a given tenth.

Note on data below: The figure quoted after distance is a rate of progress along the orbital path [exact meaning to be determined]
Minus prefix means Mars is approaching the Sun.  Plus prefix means Mars is moving away from the Sun.
The figure computed to the right of "Difference" is the rate of change of the distance to Sun. Increasing to Aphelion/Decreasing to Perihelion.

===
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com:   231,316,018 km [23.8 km/s] Difference is +197583 <= +7903 km/hour at 12 on 11/03 (time 12:00) (25 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com:   231,118,435 km [23.8 km/s] Difference is +190067 <= +7919 km/hour at 12 on 11/02 (time 12:00) (24 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com:   230,928,368 km [23.8 km/s] Difference is +190528 <= +7938 km/hour at 12 on 11/01 (time 12:00) (24 hours)
==*==*==*

Observation: The sky view is ** filled ** with objects and some have been recorded and given identification by humans or their robot assistants
And! ** All ** the location assignments are from the perspective of Earth.  The entire catalog needs to be adjusted when inter-stellar travel begins
The work that lies ahead for the astronomical community is daunting - there is work ahead for centuries
2022/01/19 - All current (existing) stellar catalogs are computed with reference to the Earth.  Another civilization would use it's planet as reference.
Perhaps a Milky Way frame of reference will become necessary at some point. The Earth is as good a Zero point as any, for humans.

=== Mars is in Regular Movement as seen from Earth. Mars is progressing from right to  left in the view from Earth. Slant .005 degrees.
Next up: Galaxy at 19 hours ahead marker: PGC 1654920 RA 08h 9m 7.1s – Day 0 -
TYC 1388-790-0 RA 08h 7m 54.2s – Day 0 – Day 1 right at Mars -
TYC 1388-1397-1 RA 08h 6m 28.7s – Day 0 – Day 1 – Right at Mars –  Day 2 just past 19 hours ago marker
====*====*>>>

Zoom Out Capability As a general observation ... I've become increasingly interested in knowing what the larger view of the sky might be like.
The site: theskylive.com does a terrific job of matching the view from Earth towards Mars, against a background of actual astronomical plates.
I wish there were a way (or rather, I wish I ** knew ** about a way that may exist) to enlarge the view until the entire galaxy is in view (Zoom out)
Update 2022/12/08 TheSkyLive.com provides a large view of selected objects: Select [Major Bodies] Then select [Information] in the body of interest
Update 2022/12/08 Scroll down to (body) Position and Finder Charts. Field of view is 50x30 degrees.

Note: The curve of the path of Mars as seen against the background of stars is now a line heading left at a downward angle.
As of 2023/01/11, the curve of the path has returned to regular movement to the left border

Light travel time today is between 8 and 9 minutes. Communications delay would be 16+ minutes round trip.

===
Earth Distance: 2024/11/03 149,528,000 (decreasing)
Earth Distance: 2024/11/02 150,591,000 (decreasing)
Earth Distance: 2024/11/01 151,619,000 (decreasing)
#>

Light travel in one second is (about) 300,000 kilometers. The distance covered in one minute is about 18,000,000 kilometers. Estimated light times:
1:18, 2:36, 3:54, 4:72, 5:90, 6:108, 7:126, 8:144,9:162,10:180,11:198,12:216,13:234,14:252,15:270,16:288,17:306,18:324,19:342,20:360,21:378,22:396

Maximum Earth-Mars distance is estimated to be 401 million kilometers (both at apogee and opposite vs Sun)
Mars and Earth were in Opposition (Earth center)  in December of 2022.  The date coincided with a (very rare) occultation of Mars by the Moon.
Mars and Earth were in Conjunction (Sun center) in November of 2023.
Mars and Earth appear to have been as close as they will get in this cycle. 81,454,323 kilometers on J0036644 Time: 4.53 minutes - 9 minutes round trip

In his online interview with Dr. Zubrin at the 2020 Mars Conference, Elon Musk reminded the audience that communications with Mars will necessarily include an intermediary station to handle traffic when the Sun is between Mars and Earth.  Communications delays in that circumstance will increase due to the extra distance to be covered.  Mr. Musk indicated he expects such communication will be handled by laser.  Location would be optimum at poles of solar plane.

Regular movement of Mars as seen from Earth resumed as of 2023/01/13. RA is once again increasing.
According to www.hercampus.com, Retrograde movement began October 30, 2022.
The online solar system display at the link below shows clearly how the Mars movement will occur in months ahead.

This web site offers an online model of the solar system: www.solarsystemscope.com  It requires Chrome 57, Firefox 52 or Safari 10.1. Viewed 2022/10/13: Opposition will occur some time in December of 2022.  Per earthsky.org, the date is December 8, 2022.

This web site offers an online orrery view of the Solar System: https://www.theplanetstoday.com/

===
Sol 660 is in Month 24 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary.
Month  24 extends from Sol 642 through 668. <<== There are 27 days in Month 24. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 57#p154257
Sol 660  is Thursday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars.   Sol 630 was a Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 667
##

The Next New Year's on Mars will occur when Solar Longitude reaches 360 degrees. <<== The current year on Mars is 37
Per www.planetary.org Year 36 started 2021/02/07 on Earth. Mars Year 37 began 2022/12/27 on Earth.

Days of the Week Alignment:
Days of the week fall behind Earth due to the longer Sol, but they also change when Friday is omitted at the end of a Quarter
337 Earth days were observed to elapse in the 2020 weekday cycle. There were 7 week day transitions and 2 Quarter ends.
The next cycle began on the first Sol of the period of coincidence. The  alignment of weekdays interval is in the range: (310 - 337)
To find the first day of a period of coincidence: Set up: SearchTerm(colon) and (colon)Alignment and J0036* or J0037*
The most recent End-Of-Quarter change occurred: … The search specified above gave 11 pages of results.

For current weather on Mars see:

   ***https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/weather/***
   ***Insight's weather info has been suspended and now is directing to msl*** <<-- Insight's mission is over (2022)

https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/weather/

Per SpaceNut: Here is another web page by NASA containing the latest news releases

https://mars.nasa.gov/news/?page=0&per_ … ope=Latest

All forum members are invited to post significant events for this day.
Events of interest will be ON Mars, or relate to Mars. Examples are launches, landings, discoveries

Standard Month in Mars Business Calendar Copyright ® 2023 NewMars.com Mars Society
Su    Mo    Tu    We    Th    Fr    Sa
1       2      3      4      5      6      7
8       9    10     11    12    13    14
15    16    17     18    19    20    21
22    23    24     25    26    27    28

Recruiting text may be found at the bottom of this post:  http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 57#p154257

Month 24 of 24: Last month of Quarter 4 and Last month of Mars year 37

tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 19,235

Re: Martian Calender - I have created a martian calender...

Place holder for today's Calendar update.

We are in the closing stretch for Year 37 on Mars.

Greenwich, UK 11/04/2024, 13:00:00 Europe/London << today's computation will cover 24 hours. We counted 25 hours yesterday due to end of DST
Object: Mars   (open sky map)
RA 08h 10m 36.3s Dec +21° 35' 46.8" Appar J2000
Mag: 0.04 (Estimated: JPL)  Const: Cancer
Sun Dist: 231,505,264 km [23.8 km/s]
Earth Dist: 148,535,106 km [16.3 km/s]

Martian Year:    << we are in the final days of Year 37
37
Martian Astronomical Month:   
12
Solar longitude Ls:    Year 38 will begin when Mars passes 360 degrees
355.6
Sol number:    << New Year's Eve will occur on Sol 668
661

tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 19,235

Re: Martian Calender - I have created a martian calender...

===
Today on Mars: 0037/24/20 Friday Days of the week offset 3 with Earth.  (count from Mars to Earth (updated 2024/08/28))

Today on Earth: 2024/11/04 Monday Earth Date) Post Title: Today on Mars   [Aphelion occurred May 30, 2023 Earth Calendar]
====*=

Per http://www-mars.lmd.jussieu.fr/mars/tim … _time.html also see: in-the-sky.org for opposition/perigee/aphelion

Martian Year: 37  Martian Astronomical Month in 12 month format: 12 <<== The Astronomical  year will increment when longitude reaches 360 degrees

===
Solar Longitude: 355.6 Sol Number: 661  Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0037661
Solar Longitude: 355.1 Sol Number: 660  Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0037660
Solar Longitude: 354.6 Sol Number: 659  Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0037659
<<#

Note that Solar Longitude measurement varies as a function of location in orbit.  Ls 0 is the moment when the Sun appears to transit from one hemisphere to the other.  Update from Mars.NASA.gov (The Sun crosses the equator of Mars (Vernal Equinox)). The transition itself is a function of the tilt of an object with respect to the Solar plane. Per squarewidget.com, Hipparchus created the celestial coordinate system we use today.

Note#2: https://theskylive.com/mars-tracker  This web site shows the astronomical position of Mars as seen from Earth
Todo: At next Aphelion/Perihelion record the Mars data J00##### (and set Search term)
Perihelion occurred at Ls 251 on Sol 485 – Earth Date 2024/05/08 Next: (estimated) 2026/03/06
Perihelion occurred at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2022/06/21 Next: (actual) 2024/05/08
Aphelion occurred at--- Ls 071 on Sol 152.  Aphelion Earth Dates: Earlier: 2017/10/07, 2015/11/20
Aphelion occurred near Ls 070 on Sol 153 (per www.planetary.org)

Note#3: The computations below are dependent upon both the computations provided by the reference web site and by accuracy of recording of the time of observations.  The calculations use tenths of hours.  The Sun Distance needs to be captured at the moment the time increments to a given tenth.

Note on data below: The figure quoted after distance is a rate of progress along the orbital path [exact meaning to be determined]
Minus prefix means Mars is approaching the Sun.  Plus prefix means Mars is moving away from the Sun.
The figure computed to the right of "Difference" is the rate of change of the distance to Sun. Increasing to Aphelion/Decreasing to Perihelion.

===
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com:   231,505,264 km [23.8 km/s] Difference is +189246 <= +7885 km/hour at 12 on 11/04 (time 12:00) (24 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com:   231,316,018 km [23.8 km/s] Difference is +197583 <= +7903 km/hour at 12 on 11/03 (time 12:00) (25 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com:   231,118,435 km [23.8 km/s] Difference is +190067 <= +7919 km/hour at 12 on 11/02 (time 12:00) (24 hours)
==*==*==*

Observation: The sky view is ** filled ** with objects and some have been recorded and given identification by humans or their robot assistants
And! ** All ** the location assignments are from the perspective of Earth.  The entire catalog needs to be adjusted when inter-stellar travel begins
The work that lies ahead for the astronomical community is daunting - there is work ahead for centuries
2022/01/19 - All current (existing) stellar catalogs are computed with reference to the Earth.  Another civilization would use it's planet as reference.
Perhaps a Milky Way frame of reference will become necessary at some point. The Earth is as good a Zero point as any, for humans.

=== Mars is in Regular Movement as seen from Earth. Mars is progressing from right to  left in the view from Earth. Slant .005 degrees.
Next up: Two stars above and below 19 hours ahead marker: TYC 1389-1644-1 RA 08h 10m 33.5s – Day 0 -
PGC 1654920 RA 08h 9m 7.1s – Day 0 – Day 1 just past Mars
TYC 1388-790-0 RA 08h 7m 54.2s – Day 0 – Day 1 right at Mars – Day 1 Past 19 hours ago marker
====*====*>>>

Zoom Out Capability As a general observation ... I've become increasingly interested in knowing what the larger view of the sky might be like.
The site: theskylive.com does a terrific job of matching the view from Earth towards Mars, against a background of actual astronomical plates.
I wish there were a way (or rather, I wish I ** knew ** about a way that may exist) to enlarge the view until the entire galaxy is in view (Zoom out)
Update 2022/12/08 TheSkyLive.com provides a large view of selected objects: Select [Major Bodies] Then select [Information] in the body of interest
Update 2022/12/08 Scroll down to (body) Position and Finder Charts. Field of view is 50x30 degrees.

Note: The curve of the path of Mars as seen against the background of stars is now a line heading left at a downward angle.
As of 2023/01/11, the curve of the path has returned to regular movement to the left border

Light travel time today is between 8 and 9 minutes. Communications delay would be 16+ minutes round trip.

===
Earth Distance: 2024/11/04 148,320,000 (decreasing)
Earth Distance: 2024/11/03 149,528,000 (decreasing)
Earth Distance: 2024/11/02 150,591,000 (decreasing)
#>

Light travel in one second is (about) 300,000 kilometers. The distance covered in one minute is about 18,000,000 kilometers. Estimated light times:
1:18, 2:36, 3:54, 4:72, 5:90, 6:108, 7:126, 8:144,9:162,10:180,11:198,12:216,13:234,14:252,15:270,16:288,17:306,18:324,19:342,20:360,21:378,22:396

Maximum Earth-Mars distance is estimated to be 401 million kilometers (both at apogee and opposite vs Sun)
Mars and Earth were in Opposition (Earth center)  in December of 2022.  The date coincided with a (very rare) occultation of Mars by the Moon.
Mars and Earth were in Conjunction (Sun center) in November of 2023.
Mars and Earth appear to have been as close as they will get in this cycle. 81,454,323 kilometers on J0036644 Time: 4.53 minutes - 9 minutes round trip

In his online interview with Dr. Zubrin at the 2020 Mars Conference, Elon Musk reminded the audience that communications with Mars will necessarily include an intermediary station to handle traffic when the Sun is between Mars and Earth.  Communications delays in that circumstance will increase due to the extra distance to be covered.  Mr. Musk indicated he expects such communication will be handled by laser.  Location would be optimum at poles of solar plane.

Regular movement of Mars as seen from Earth resumed as of 2023/01/13. RA is once again increasing.
According to www.hercampus.com, Retrograde movement began October 30, 2022.
The online solar system display at the link below shows clearly how the Mars movement will occur in months ahead.

This web site offers an online model of the solar system: www.solarsystemscope.com  It requires Chrome 57, Firefox 52 or Safari 10.1. Viewed 2022/10/13: Opposition will occur some time in December of 2022.  Per earthsky.org, the date is December 8, 2022.

This web site offers an online orrery view of the Solar System: https://www.theplanetstoday.com/

===
Sol 661 is in Month 24 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary.
Month  24 extends from Sol 642 through 668. <<== There are 27 days in Month 24. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 57#p154257
Sol 661  is Friday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars.   Sol 630 was a Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 667
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The Next New Year's on Mars will occur when Solar Longitude reaches 360 degrees. <<== The current year on Mars is 37
Per www.planetary.org Year 36 started 2021/02/07 on Earth. Mars Year 37 began 2022/12/27 on Earth.

Days of the Week Alignment:
Days of the week fall behind Earth due to the longer Sol, but they also change when Friday is omitted at the end of a Quarter
337 Earth days were observed to elapse in the 2020 weekday cycle. There were 7 week day transitions and 2 Quarter ends.
The next cycle began on the first Sol of the period of coincidence. The  alignment of weekdays interval is in the range: (310 - 337)
To find the first day of a period of coincidence: Set up: SearchTerm(colon) and (colon)Alignment and J0036* or J0037*
The most recent End-Of-Quarter change occurred: … The search specified above gave 11 pages of results.

For current weather on Mars see:

   ***https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/weather/***
   ***Insight's weather info has been suspended and now is directing to msl*** <<-- Insight's mission is over (2022)

https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/weather/

Per SpaceNut: Here is another web page by NASA containing the latest news releases

https://mars.nasa.gov/news/?page=0&per_ … ope=Latest

All forum members are invited to post significant events for this day.
Events of interest will be ON Mars, or relate to Mars. Examples are launches, landings, discoveries

Standard Month in Mars Business Calendar Copyright ® 2023 NewMars.com Mars Society
Su    Mo    Tu    We    Th    Fr    Sa
1       2      3      4      5      6      7
8       9    10     11    12    13    14
15    16    17     18    19    20    21
22    23    24     25    26    27    28

Recruiting text may be found at the bottom of this post:  http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 57#p154257

Month 24 of 24: Last month of Quarter 4 and Last month of Mars year 37