New Mars Forums

tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 18,436

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

===
Today on Mars: 0037/22/01 Sunday Days of the week offset 1 with Earth.  (count from Mars to Earth (updated 2024/07/22))
One day note: First day of Month 22
Today on Earth: 2024/08/19 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: 11 <<== The Astronomical month will increment when longitude reaches 330 degrees

===
Solar Longitude: 314.0 Sol Number: 586  Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0037586
Solar Longitude: 313.4 Sol Number: 585  Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0037585
Solar Longitude: 312.8 Sol Number: 584  Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0037584
<<#

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:   216,841,672 km [25.3 km/s] Difference is +174009 <= +7250 km/hour at 12 on 08/19 (time 12:00) (24 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com:   216,667,663 km [25.4 km/s] Difference is +173110 <= +7213 km/hour at 12 on 08/18 (time 12:00) (24 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com:   216,494,553 km [25.4 km/s] Difference is +172180 <= +7174 km/hour at 12 on 08/17 (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.

=== Mars is in Regular Movement as seen from Earth. Mars is progressing from lower right to upper left in the view from Earth. Slant 20 degrees.
Next up: Star directly in path TYC 1846-802-1 RA 05h 17m 19.9s – Day 0 -
TYC 1846-80-1 and TYC 1846-914-1 – Day 0 – Day 1 – out of view
====*====*>>>

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 13 and 14 minutes. Communications delay would be 26+ minutes round trip.

===
Earth Distance: 2024/08/19 224,213,000 (decreasing)
Earth Distance: 2024/08/18 225,372,000 (decreasing)
Earth Distance: 2024/08/17 226,247,000 (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 586 is in Month 22 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary.
Month  21 extends from Sol 585 through 613. <<== There are 28 days in Month 22. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 57#p154257
Sol 586 is Sunday  in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars.   Sol 558 was a Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 595 August 26
##

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 22 of 24: <<== Fourth month of Quarter 4

tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 18,436

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

Place holder for today's Calendar update...

Greenwich, UK 08/20/2024, 13:00:03 Europe/London << 12:00:03 UTC
Object: Mars  [ ▸ Sky Map ]
RA 05h 18m 33.1s Dec +22° 47' 57.2" Appar J2000
Mag: 0.88 (Estimated: JPL)  Const: Taurus
Sun Dist: 217,016,570 km [25.3 km/s]
Earth Dist: 223,863,157 km [30.4 km/s]

Martian Year:   
37
Martian Astronomical Month:   
11
Solar longitude Ls:   
314.6
Sol number:   
587

(th)

tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 18,436

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

===
Today on Mars: 0037/22/02 Monday Days of the week offset 1 with Earth.  (count from Mars to Earth (updated 2024/07/22))

Today on Earth: 2024/08/20 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: 37  Martian Astronomical Month in 12 month format: 11 <<== The Astronomical month will increment when longitude reaches 330 degrees

===
Solar Longitude: 314.6 Sol Number: 587  Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0037587
Solar Longitude: 314.0 Sol Number: 586  Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0037586
Solar Longitude: 313.4 Sol Number: 585  Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0037585
<<#

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:   217,016,570 km [25.3 km/s] Difference is +174898 <= +7287 km/hour at 12 on 08/20 (time 12:00) (24 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com:   216,841,672 km [25.3 km/s] Difference is +174009 <= +7250 km/hour at 12 on 08/19 (time 12:00) (24 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com:   216,667,663 km [25.4 km/s] Difference is +173110 <= +7213 km/hour at 12 on 08/18 (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 lower right to upper left in the view from Earth. Slant 20 degrees.
Next up: Stars above and below: TYC 1847-640-1 and TYC 1847-1102-1 RA 05h 20m 11.7s – Day 0
TYC 1846-802-1 RA 05h 17m 19.9s – Day 0 – just past 5 hours 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 13 and 14 minutes. Communications delay would be 26+ minutes round trip.

===
Earth Distance: 2024/08/20 223,579,000 (decreasing)
Earth Distance: 2024/08/19 224,213,000 (decreasing)
Earth Distance: 2024/08/18 225,372,000 (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 587 is in Month 22 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary.
Month  21 extends from Sol 585 through 613. <<== There are 28 days in Month 22. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 57#p154257
Sol 587 is Monday  in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars.   Sol 558 was a Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 595 August 26
##

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 22 of 24: <<== Fourth month of Quarter 4

tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 18,436

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

Place holder for today's Calendar update

By interpolation, the Sun distance at 12:00 UTC was: 217192354

Greenwich, UK 08/21/2024, 14:59:59 Europe/London << 14:00 UTC
Object: Mars  [ ▸ Sky Map ]
RA 05h 21m 32.4s Dec +22° 51' 51.8" Appar J2000
Mag: 0.88 (Estimated: JPL)  Const: Taurus
Sun Dist: 217,207,013 km [25.3 km/s]
Earth Dist: 222,970,079 km [30.3 km/s]

Greenwich, UK 08/21/2024, 11:00:22 Europe/London 10:00:22 UTC
Object: Mars  [ ▸ Sky Map ]
RA 05h 21m 05.0s Dec +22° 51' 17.9" Appar J2000
Mag: 0.88 (Estimated: JPL)  Const: Taurus
Sun Dist: 217,177,694 km [25.3 km/s]
Earth Dist: 223,107,626 km [30.3 km/s]

My (tentative) plan for today is to take another snapshot at 14:00 UTC and interpolate between the readings to get the 12:00 values.

Martian Year:   
37
Martian Astronomical Month:   
11
Solar longitude Ls:   
315.2
Sol number:   
588

(th)

tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 18,436

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

===
Today on Mars: 0037/22/03 Tuesday Days of the week offset 1 with Earth.  (count from Mars to Earth (updated 2024/07/22))

Today on Earth: 2024/08/21 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: 37  Martian Astronomical Month in 12 month format: 11 <<== The Astronomical month will increment when longitude reaches 330 degrees

===
Solar Longitude: 315.2 Sol Number: 588  Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0037588
Solar Longitude: 314.6 Sol Number: 587  Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0037587
Solar Longitude: 314.0 Sol Number: 586  Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0037586
<<#

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:   217,192,354 km [25.3 km/s] Difference is +175784 <= +7324 km/hour at 12 on 08/21 (time 12:00) (24 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com:   217,016,570 km [25.3 km/s] Difference is +174898 <= +7287 km/hour at 12 on 08/20 (time 12:00) (24 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com:   216,841,672 km [25.3 km/s] Difference is +174009 <= +7250 km/hour at 12 on 08/19 (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 lower right to upper left in the view from Earth. Slant 20 degrees.
Next up: Just above path: HIP 25068 – Day 0
TYC 1847-640-1 and TYC 1847-1102-1 RA 05h 20m 11.7s – Day 0 Day 1 just past Mars Likely last day for these two
====*====*>>>

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 13 and 14 minutes. Communications delay would be 26+ minutes round trip.

===
Earth Distance: 2024/08/21 222,886,000 (decreasing)
Earth Distance: 2024/08/20 223,579,000 (decreasing)
Earth Distance: 2024/08/19 224,213,000 (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 588 is in Month 22 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary.
Month  21 extends from Sol 585 through 613. <<== There are 28 days in Month 22. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 57#p154257
Sol 588 is Tuesday  in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars.   Sol 558 was a Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 595 August 26
##

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 22 of 24: <<== Fourth month of Quarter 4

tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 18,436

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

Place holder for today's Calendar update:

Snapshot taken at 12:00 UTC plus a few seconds
Object: Mars  [ ▸ Sky Map ]
RA 05h 24m 03.8s Dec +22° 55' 03.0" Appar J2000
Mag: 0.86 (Estimated: JPL)  Const: Taurus
Sun Dist: 217,368,963 km [25.3 km/s]
Earth Dist: 222,209,902 km [30.1 km/s]

Martian Year:   
37
Martian Astronomical Month:   
11
Solar longitude Ls:   
315.7
Sol number:   
589