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Place holder for today's Calendar update:
London ENG (GB) 02/11/2025, 13:00:05 Europe/London
Object: Mars (open sky map)
RA 07h 20m 29.4s Dec +26° 13' 36.4" Appar J2000
Mag: -0.81 (Estimated: JPL) Const: Gemini
Sun Dist: 246,197,085 km [22.3 km/s]
Earth Dist: 110,386,760 km [11.0 km/s]
Martian Year:
38
Martian Astronomical Month:
2
Solar longitude Ls:
42.4
Sol number:
88
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===
Today on Mars: 0038/04/04 Wednesday Days of the week offset 6 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth )
Sol 88 Business Month 4
Today on Earth: 2025/02/11 Tuesday 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: 38 Martian Astronomical Month in 12 month format: 2 <<== The Astronomical month will increment when longitude reaches 60 degrees
===
Solar Longitude: 042.4 Sol Number: 088 Change in degrees is +.4 Julian date is: J0038088
Solar Longitude: 042.0 Sol Number: 087 Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0038087
Solar Longitude: 041.5 Sol Number: 086 Change in degrees is +.4 Julian date is: J0038086
<<#
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 http://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: 246,197,085 km [22.3 km/s] Difference is +93606 <= +3900 km/hour at 12 on 02/11 (time 12:00) (24 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 246,103,479 km [22.3 km/s] Difference is +94942 <= +3956 km/hour at 12 on 02/10 (time 12:00) (24 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 246,008,537 km [22.3 km/s] Difference is +96191 <= +4008 km/hour at 12 on 02/09 (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.
Note: Mars will go retrograde starting December 6, 2024 and continue through February 23, 2025.
=== Mars is in Retrograde movement as seen from Earth.
Two mini-boomers HIP 35333 and HIP 35273 – Day 0 – Day 1 holding position on right of view
TYC 1913-93-1 RA 07h 19m 18.3s - Day 1 just ahead of Mars - Day 2 past Mars – I'm expecting this star to remain during end of Retrograde
Mars RA 07h 20m 19.5s – still moving West
Mars RA 07h 21m 01.9s – still moving West
====*====*>>>
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 5 and 6 minutes. Communications delay would be 10+ minutes round trip.
===
Earth Distance in km: 2025/02/11 110,591,000 (increasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2025/02/10 109,743,000 (increasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2025/02/09 108,708,000 (increasing)
#>
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) Minimum is about 56 million kilometers
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 88 is in Month 4 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary.
Month 4 extends from Sol 85 through 112. <<== There are 28 days in Month 4. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 57#p154257
Sol 88 is Wednesday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 85 was a Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 112 of Year 38
##
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 4 of 24 Quarter 1 of 4 [Month 4-6] (This month has 28 Sols)
Offline
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Place holder for today's Calendar update:
Greenwich, UK 02/12/2025, 13:00:00 Europe/London
Object: Mars (open sky map)
RA 07h 19m 47.6s Dec +26° 13' 22.6" Appar J2000
Mag: -0.77 (Estimated: JPL) Const: Gemini
Sun Dist: 246,289,338 km [22.3 km/s]
Earth Dist: 111,295,198 km [11.2 km/s]
Martian Year:
38
Martian Astronomical Month:
2
Solar longitude Ls:
42.9
Sol number:
89
Offline
Like button can go here
===
Today on Mars: 0038/04/05 Thursday Days of the week offset 6 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth )
Sol 89 Business Month 4
Today on Earth: 2025/02/12 Wednesday 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: 38 Martian Astronomical Month in 12 month format: 2 <<== The Astronomical month will increment when longitude reaches 60 degrees
===
Solar Longitude: 042.4 Sol Number: 088 Change in degrees is +.4 Julian date is: J0038088
Solar Longitude: 042.0 Sol Number: 087 Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0038087
Solar Longitude: 041.5 Sol Number: 086 Change in degrees is +.4 Julian date is: J0038086
<<#
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 http://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: 246,289,338 km [22.3 km/s] Difference is +92253 <= +3844 km/hour at 12 on 02/12 (time 12:00) (24 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 246,197,085 km [22.3 km/s] Difference is +93606 <= +3900 km/hour at 12 on 02/11 (time 12:00) (24 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 246,103,479 km [22.3 km/s] Difference is +94942 <= +3956 km/hour at 12 on 02/10 (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.
Note: Mars will go retrograde starting December 6, 2024 and continue through February 23, 2025.
=== Mars is in Retrograde movement as seen from Earth.
HIP 35333 and HIP 35273 – Day 0 – Day 1 holding position on right of view – Day 2 ahead of Mars -
TYC 1913-93-1 RA 07h 19m 18.3s - Day 1 just ahead of Mars - Day 2 past Mars – Day 3 still visible
Mars RA 07h 19m 43.5s – still moving West
Mars RA 07h 20m 19.5s – still moving West
====*====*>>>
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 6 and 7 minutes. Communications delay would be 12+ minutes round trip.
===
Earth Distance in km: 2025/02/12 111,396,000 (increasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2025/02/11 110,591,000 (increasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2025/02/10 109,743,000 (increasing)
#>
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) Minimum is about 56 million kilometers
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 89 is in Month 4 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary.
Month 4 extends from Sol 85 through 112. <<== There are 28 days in Month 4. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 57#p154257
Sol 89 is Thursday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 85 was a Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 112 of Year 38
##
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 4 of 24 Quarter 1 of 4 [Month 4-6] (This month has 28 Sols)
Offline
Like button can go here
Place holder for today's Calendar update:
Greenwich, UK 02/13/2025, 13:00:01 Europe/London
Object: Mars (open sky map)
RA 07h 19m 08.7s Dec +26° 12' 59.8" Appar J2000
Mag: -0.73 (Estimated: JPL) Const: Gemini
Sun Dist: 246,380,245 km [22.3 km/s]
Earth Dist: 112,225,568 km [11.3 km/s]
Martian Year:
38
Martian Astronomical Month:
2
Solar longitude Ls:
43.3
Sol number:
90
Offline
Like button can go here
===
Today on Mars: 0038/04/06 Friday Days of the week offset 6 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth )
Sol 90 Business Month 4
Today on Earth: 2025/02/13 Thursday 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: 38 Martian Astronomical Month in 12 month format: 2 <<== The Astronomical month will increment when longitude reaches 60 degrees
===
Solar Longitude: 043.3 Sol Number: 090 Change in degrees is +.4 Julian date is: J0038090
Solar Longitude: 042.9 Sol Number: 089 Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0038089
Solar Longitude: 042.4 Sol Number: 088 Change in degrees is +.4 Julian date is: J0038088
<<#
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 http://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: 246,380,245 km [22.3 km/s] Difference is +90907 <= +3788 km/hour at 12 on 02/13 (time 12:00) (24 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 246,289,338 km [22.3 km/s] Difference is +92253 <= +3844 km/hour at 12 on 02/12 (time 12:00) (24 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 246,197,085 km [22.3 km/s] Difference is +93606 <= +3900 km/hour at 12 on 02/11 (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.
Note: Mars will go retrograde starting December 6, 2024 and continue through February 23, 2025.
=== Mars is in Retrograde movement as seen from Earth.
HIP 35333 and HIP 35273 – Day 0 – Day 1 holding position on right of view – Day 2 ahead of Mars – Day 3 Mars in middle
TYC 1913-93-1 RA 07h 19m 18.3s - Day 1 just ahead of Mars - Day 2 past Mars – Day 3 still visible – Day 4 still visible at left
Mars RA 07h 18m 59.7s – still moving West
Mars RA 07h 19m 43.5s – still moving West
====*====*>>>
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 6 and 7 minutes. Communications delay would be 12+ minutes round trip.
===
TheSkylive.com went offline at 18:54 UTC on 2025/02/13
Earth Distance in km: 2025/02/12 111,396,000 (increasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2025/02/11 110,591,000 (increasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2025/02/10 109,743,000 (increasing)
#>
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) Minimum is about 56 million kilometers
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 90 is in Month 4 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary.
Month 4 extends from Sol 85 through 112. <<== There are 28 days in Month 4. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 57#p154257
Sol 90 is Friday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 85 was a Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 112 of Year 38
##
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 4 of 24 Quarter 1 of 4 [Month 4-6] (This month has 28 Sols)
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Place holder for today's Calendar update:
Greenwich, UK 02/14/2025, 13:00:11 Europe/London
Object: Mars (open sky map)
RA 07h 18m 33.4s Dec +26° 12' 28.2" Appar J2000
Mag: -0.69 (Estimated: JPL) Const: Gemini
Sun Dist: 246,469,809 km [22.2 km/s]
Earth Dist: 113,177,370 km [11.5 km/s]
Martian Year:
38
Martian Astronomical Month:
2
Solar longitude Ls:
43.8
Sol number:
91
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===
Today on Mars: 0038/04/07 Saturday Days of the week offset 6 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth )
Sol 91 Business Month 4
Today on Earth: 2025/02/14 Friday 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: 38 Martian Astronomical Month in 12 month format: 2 <<== The Astronomical month will increment when longitude reaches 60 degrees
===
Solar Longitude: 043.8 Sol Number: 091 Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0038091
Solar Longitude: 043.3 Sol Number: 090 Change in degrees is +.4 Julian date is: J0038090
Solar Longitude: 042.9 Sol Number: 089 Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0038089
<<#
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 http://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: 246,469,809 km [22.2 km/s] Difference is +89564 <= +3732 km/hour at 12 on 02/14 (time 12:00) (24 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 246,380,245 km [22.3 km/s] Difference is +90907 <= +3788 km/hour at 12 on 02/13 (time 12:00) (24 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 246,289,338 km [22.3 km/s] Difference is +92253 <= +3844 km/hour at 12 on 02/12 (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.
Note: Mars will go retrograde starting December 6, 2024 and continue through February 23, 2025.
=== Mars is in Retrograde movement as seen from Earth.
Next up: Star just above path TYC 1913-29-1 RA 07h 15m 55.5s – Day 0 next 52 hours -
HIP 35333 and HIP 35273 – Day 0 – Day 1 ahead – Day 2 ahead of Mars – Day 3 Mars in middle Day 4 past Mars
TYC 1913-93-1 RA 07h 19m 18.3s - Day 1 just ahead of Mars - Day 2 3 4 5 past Mars
Mars RA 07h 18m 30.4s – still moving West
Mars RA 07h 18m 59.7s – still moving West
====*====*>>>
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 6 and 7 minutes. Communications delay would be 12+ minutes round trip.
===
Earth Distance in km: 2025/02/14 113,275,000 (increasing)
TheSkylive.com went offline at 18:54 UTC on 2025/02/13
Earth Distance in km: 2025/02/12 111,396,000 (increasing)
#>
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) Minimum is about 56 million kilometers
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 91 is in Month 4 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary.
Month 4 extends from Sol 85 through 112. <<== There are 28 days in Month 4. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 57#p154257
Sol 91 is Saturday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 85 was a Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 112 of Year 38
##
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
Offline
Like button can go here
Place holder for today's Calendar update:
Greenwich, UK 02/15/2025, 13:00:00 Europe/London
Object: Mars (open sky map)
RA 07h 18m 01.5s Dec +26° 11' 48.2" Appar J2000
Mag: -0.66 (Estimated: JPL) Const: Gemini
Sun Dist: 246,557,992 km [22.2 km/s]
Earth Dist: 114,149,676 km [11.7 km/s]
Martian Year:
38
Martian Astronomical Month:
2
Solar longitude Ls:
44.2
Sol number:
92
Offline
Like button can go here
===
Today on Mars: 0038/04/08 Sunday Days of the week offset 6 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth )
Sol 92 Business Month 4
Today on Earth: 2025/02/15 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: 38 Martian Astronomical Month in 12 month format: 2 <<== The Astronomical month will increment when longitude reaches 60 degrees
===
Solar Longitude: 044.2 Sol Number: 092 Change in degrees is +.4 Julian date is: J0038092
Solar Longitude: 043.8 Sol Number: 091 Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0038091
Solar Longitude: 043.3 Sol Number: 090 Change in degrees is +.4 Julian date is: J0038090
<<#
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 http://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: 246,557,992 km [22.2 km/s] Difference is +88183 <= +3674 km/hour at 12 on 02/15 (time 12:00) (24 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 246,469,809 km [22.2 km/s] Difference is +89564 <= +3732 km/hour at 12 on 02/14 (time 12:00) (24 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 246,380,245 km [22.3 km/s] Difference is +90907 <= +3788 km/hour at 12 on 02/13 (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.
Note: Mars will go retrograde starting December 6, 2024 and continue through February 23, 2025.
=== Mars is in Retrograde movement as seen from Earth.
TYC 1913-29-1 RA 07h 15m 55.5s – Day 0 next 52 hours – Day 1 next 27 hours
HIP 35333 and HIP 35273 – Day 0 – Day 1 ahead – Day 2 ahead of Mars – Day 3 Mars in middle Day 4 past Mars Day 5 past Mars
Mars RA 07h 17m 49.8s – still moving West
Mars RA 07h 18m 30.4s – still moving West
====*====*>>>
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 6 and 7 minutes. Communications delay would be 12+ minutes round trip.
===
Earth Distance in km: 2025/02/15 114,508,000 (increasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2025/02/14 113,275,000 (increasing)
TheSkylive.com went offline at 18:54 UTC on 2025/02/13
#>
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) Minimum is about 56 million kilometers
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 92 is in Month 4 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary.
Month 4 extends from Sol 85 through 112. <<== There are 28 days in Month 4. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 57#p154257
Sol 92 is Sunday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 85 was a Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 112 of Year 38
##
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 4 of 24 Quarter 1 of 4 [Month 4-6] (This month has 28 Sols)
Offline
Like button can go here
Place holder for today's Calendar update:
London ENG (GB) 02/16/2025, 13:00:02 Europe/London
Object: Mars (open sky map)
RA 07h 17m 33.2s Dec +26° 10' 59.3" Appar J2000
Mag: -0.62 (Estimated: JPL) Const: Gemini
Sun Dist: 246,644,826 km [22.2 km/s]
Earth Dist: 115,142,324 km [11.8 km/s]
Martian Year:
38
Martian Astronomical Month:
2
Solar longitude Ls:
44.7
Sol number:
93
Offline
Like button can go here
===
Today on Mars: 0038/04/09 Monday Days of the week offset 6 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth )
Sol 93 Business Month 4
Today on Earth: 2025/02/16 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: 38 Martian Astronomical Month in 12 month format: 2 <<== The Astronomical month will increment when longitude reaches 60 degrees
===
Solar Longitude: 044.7 Sol Number: 093 Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0038093
Solar Longitude: 044.2 Sol Number: 092 Change in degrees is +.4 Julian date is: J0038092
Solar Longitude: 043.8 Sol Number: 091 Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0038091
<<#
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 http://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: 246,644,826 km [22.2 km/s] Difference is +86834 <= +3618 km/hour at 12 on 02/16 (time 12:00) (24 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 246,557,992 km [22.2 km/s] Difference is +88183 <= +3674 km/hour at 12 on 02/15 (time 12:00) (24 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 246,469,809 km [22.2 km/s] Difference is +89564 <= +3732 km/hour at 12 on 02/14 (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.
Note: Mars will go retrograde starting December 6, 2024 and continue through February 23, 2025.
=== Mars is in Retrograde movement as seen from Earth.
TYC 1913-29-1 RA 07h 15m 55.5s – Day 0 next 52 hours – Day 1 next 27 hours – Day 2 at Mars
HIP 35333 and HIP 35273 – Day 0 – Day 1 ahead – Day 2 ahead – Day 3 middle Day 4 past Day 5 past Day 6 past
Mars RA 07h 17m 30.3s – still moving West
Mars RA 07h 17m 49.8s – still moving West
====*====*>>>
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 6 and 7 minutes. Communications delay would be 12+ minutes round trip.
===
Earth Distance in km: 2025/02/16 115,265,000 (increasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2025/02/15 114,508,000 (increasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2025/02/14 113,275,000 (increasing)
#>
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) Minimum is about 56 million kilometers
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 93 is in Month 4 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary.
Month 4 extends from Sol 85 through 112. <<== There are 28 days in Month 4. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 57#p154257
Sol 93 is Monday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 85 was a Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 112 of Year 38
##
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 4 of 24 Quarter 1 of 4 [Month 4-6] (This month has 28 Sols)
Offline
Like button can go here
Place holder for today's Calendar update:
London ENG (GB) 02/17/2025, 13:00:00 Europe/London
Object: Mars (open sky map)
RA 07h 17m 08.3s Dec +26° 10' 01.8" Appar J2000
Mag: -0.58 (Estimated: JPL) Const: Gemini
Sun Dist: 246,730,289 km [22.2 km/s]
Earth Dist: 116,154,574 km [12.0 km/s]
Martian Year:
38
Martian Astronomical Month:
2
Solar longitude Ls:
45.1
Sol number:
94
Offline
Like button can go here
===
Today on Mars: 0038/04/10 Tuesday Days of the week offset 6 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth )
Sol 94 Business Month 4
Today on Earth: 2025/02/17 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: 38 Martian Astronomical Month in 12 month format: 2 <<== The Astronomical month will increment when longitude reaches 60 degrees
===
Solar Longitude: 045.1 Sol Number: 094 Change in degrees is +.4 Julian date is: J0038094
Solar Longitude: 044.7 Sol Number: 093 Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0038093
Solar Longitude: 044.2 Sol Number: 092 Change in degrees is +.4 Julian date is: J0038092
<<#
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 http://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: 246,730,289 km [22.2 km/s] Difference is +85463 <= +3561 km/hour at 12 on 02/17 (time 12:00) (24 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 246,644,826 km [22.2 km/s] Difference is +86834 <= +3618 km/hour at 12 on 02/16 (time 12:00) (24 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 246,557,992 km [22.2 km/s] Difference is +88183 <= +3674 km/hour at 12 on 02/15 (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.
Note: Mars will go retrograde starting December 6, 2024 and continue through February 23, 2025.
=== Mars is in Retrograde movement as seen from Earth.
Next up: Galaxy below path: PGC 1762783 RA 07h 14m 52.8s – below path 71 hours ahead
TYC 1913-29-1 RA 07h 15m 55.5s – Day 0 next 52 hours – Day 1 next 27 hours – Day 2 at Mars – Day 3 through 3 past Mars
HIP 35333 and HIP 35273 – Day 0 – Day 1 ahead – Day 2 ahead – Day 3 middle Day 4 through 7 past
Mars RA 07h 17m 07.0s – still moving West <<== Path is now descending to right
Mars RA 07h 17m 30.3s – still moving West
====*====*>>>
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 6 and 7 minutes. Communications delay would be 12+ minutes round trip.
===
Earth Distance in km: 2025/02/17 116,221,000 (increasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2025/02/16 115,265,000 (increasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2025/02/15 114,508,000 (increasing)
#>
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) Minimum is about 56 million kilometers
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 94 is in Month 4 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary.
Month 4 extends from Sol 85 through 112. <<== There are 28 days in Month 4. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 57#p154257
Sol 94 is Tuesday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 85 was a Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 112 of Year 38
##
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 4 of 24 Quarter 1 of 4 [Month 4-6] (This month has 28 Sols)
Offline
Like button can go here
Place holder for today's Calendar update:
London ENG (GB) 02/18/2025, 13:00:00 Europe/London
Object: Mars (open sky map)
RA 07h 16m 47.0s Dec +26° 08' 56.8" Appar J2000
Mag: -0.55 (Estimated: JPL) Const: Gemini
Sun Dist: 246,814,382 km [22.2 km/s]
Earth Dist: 117,185,929 km [12.2 km/s]
Martian Year:
38
Martian Astronomical Month:
2
Solar longitude Ls:
45.6
Sol number:
95
Offline
Like button can go here
===
Today on Mars: 0038/04/11 Wednesday Days of the week offset 6 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth )
Sol 95 Business Month 4
Today on Earth: 2025/02/18 Tuesday 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: 38 Martian Astronomical Month in 12 month format: 2 <<== The Astronomical month will increment when longitude reaches 60 degrees
===
Solar Longitude: 045.6 Sol Number: 095 Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0038095
Solar Longitude: 045.1 Sol Number: 094 Change in degrees is +.4 Julian date is: J0038094
Solar Longitude: 044.7 Sol Number: 093 Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0038093
<<#
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 http://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: 246,814,382 km [22.2 km/s] Difference is +84093 <= +3504 km/hour at 12 on 02/18 (time 12:00) (24 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 246,730,289 km [22.2 km/s] Difference is +85463 <= +3561 km/hour at 12 on 02/17 (time 12:00) (24 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 246,644,826 km [22.2 km/s] Difference is +86834 <= +3618 km/hour at 12 on 02/16 (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.
Note: Mars will go retrograde starting December 6, 2024 and continue through February 23, 2025.
=== Mars is in Retrograde movement as seen from Earth.
End of Retrograde movement is close at hand – Right excursion will (apparently) reach 7h 14m 30.5s.
PGC 1762783 RA 07h 14m 52.8s – below path 71 hours ahead Day 0 – Day 1 44 ahead
TYC 1913-29-1 RA 07h 15m 55.5s – Day 0 next 52 hours – Day 1 next 27 hours – Day 2 at Mars – Day 3 through 4 past Mars
HIP 35333 and HIP 35273 – Day 0 – Day 1 ahead – Day 2 ahead – Day 3 middle Day 4 through 7 past Day 8 out of view on left
Mars RA 07h 16m 44.9s – still moving West <<== Path is now descending to right
Mars RA 07h 17m 07.0s – still moving West <<== Path is now descending to right
====*====*>>>
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 6 and 7 minutes. Communications delay would be 12+ minutes round trip.
===
Earth Distance in km: 2025/02/18 117,312,000 (increasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2025/02/17 116,221,000 (increasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2025/02/16 115,265,000 (increasing)
#>
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) Minimum is about 56 million kilometers
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 95 is in Month 4 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary.
Month 4 extends from Sol 85 through 112. <<== There are 28 days in Month 4. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 57#p154257
Sol 95 is Wednesday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 85 was a Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 112 of Year 38
##
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 4 of 24 Quarter 1 of 4 [Month 4-6] (This month has 28 Sols)
Offline
Like button can go here
Place holder for today's Calendar update:
Greenwich, UK 02/19/2025, 13:00:00 Europe/London
Object: Mars (open sky map)
RA 07h 16m 29.1s Dec +26° 07' 44.8" Appar J2000
Mag: -0.55 (Estimated: JPL) Const: Gemini
Sun Dist: 246,897,099 km [22.2 km/s]
Earth Dist: 118,235,832 km [12.4 km/s]
Martian Year:
38
Martian Astronomical Month:
2
Solar longitude Ls:
46
Sol number:
96
Offline
Like button can go here
===
Today on Mars: 0038/04/12 Thursday Days of the week offset 6 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth )
Sol 96 Business Month 4
Today on Earth: 2025/02/19 Wednesday 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: 38 Martian Astronomical Month in 12 month format: 2 <<== The Astronomical month will increment when longitude reaches 60 degrees
===
Solar Longitude: 046.0 Sol Number: 096 Change in degrees is +.4 Julian date is: J0038096
Solar Longitude: 045.6 Sol Number: 095 Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0038095
Solar Longitude: 045.1 Sol Number: 094 Change in degrees is +.4 Julian date is: J0038094
<<#
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 http://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: 246,897,099 km [22.2 km/s] Difference is +82717 <= +3447 km/hour at 12 on 02/19 (time 12:00) (24 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 246,814,382 km [22.2 km/s] Difference is +84093 <= +3504 km/hour at 12 on 02/18 (time 12:00) (24 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 246,730,289 km [22.2 km/s] Difference is +85463 <= +3561 km/hour at 12 on 02/17 (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.
Note: Mars will go retrograde starting December 6, 2024 and continue through February 23, 2025.
=== Mars is in Retrograde movement as seen from Earth.
End of Retrograde movement is close at hand – Right excursion will (apparently) reach 7h 14m 30.5s.
PGC 1762783 RA 07h 14m 52.8s – below path 71 hours ahead Day 0 – Day 1 44 ahead – Day 2 below Mars
TYC 1913-29-1 RA 07h 15m 55.5s – Day 0 next 52 hours – Day 1 next 27 hours – Day 2 at Mars – Day 3 through 5 past Mars
HIP 35333 and HIP 35273 – Day 0 – Day 1 ahead – Day 2 ahead – Day 3 middle Day 4 through 7 past Day 8 out of view on left – save for return
Mars RA 07h 16m 27.5s – still moving West <<== Path is now descending to right
Mars RA 07h 16m 44.9s – still moving West <<== Path is now descending to right
====*====*>>>
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.
Light travel time today is between 6 and 7 minutes. Communications delay would be 12+ minutes round trip.
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Earth Distance in km: 2025/02/19 118,359,000 (increasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2025/02/18 117,312,000 (increasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2025/02/17 116,221,000 (increasing)
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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) Minimum is about 56 million kilometers
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/
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Sol 96 is in Month 4 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary.
Month 4 extends from Sol 85 through 112. <<== There are 28 days in Month 4. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 57#p154257
Sol 96 is Thursday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 85 was a Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 112 of Year 38
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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 4 of 24 Quarter 1 of 4 [Month 4-6] (This month has 28 Sols)
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