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Place holder for today's Calendar update.
[51.4792N, 0.0000E] 02/06/2026, 13:00:00 Europe/London
Object: Mars (open sky map)
RA 20h 55m 20.1s Dec -18° 28' 02.2" Appar J2000
Mag: 1.10 (Estimated: JPL) Const: Capricornus
Sun Dist: 209,041,963 km [26.2 km/s]
Earth Dist: 354,819,939 km [56.3 km/s]
Martian Year:
38
Martian Astroomical Month:
8
Solar longitude Ls:
220.5
Sol number:
439
Next ahead: three galaxies above path PGC 867186 RA 20h 53m 56.6s – Day 0 just ahead of 8
Star in path: TYC 6352-100-1 RA 20h 50m 08.6s Day 0 well ahead of 8 hours marker Day 1 Well past 8 hours
====*====*===
Total number of registered users: 19,630
Total number of topics: 8,976
Total number of posts: 233,572
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===
Today on Mars: 0038/16/21 Saturday Days of the week OFFSET 6 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth )
Sol 439 Business Month 16 Fourth month of Quarter 3 of Year 38
Today on Earth: 2026/02/06 Friday Earth Date) Post Title: Today on Mars
====*====*==
To see how this calendar works, we show the standard 28 day month at the bottom of this daily report.
There are 20 months of 28 Sols and 4 months of 27 Sols at the end of the four six-month quarters.
New Years Eve is extended to align the Business Calendar for Mars with the Astronomical calendar.
Business and Astronomical both start at zero (to the nanosecond) on New Year's Day.
This calendar has been in operation for two full Mars years (36 and 37). We are in Year 38
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: 7 <<== The Astronomical month will increment when longitude reaches 210 degrees
===
Solar Longitude: 220.5 Sol Number: 439 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038439
Solar Longitude: 219.9 Sol Number: 438 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038438
Solar Longitude: 219.3 Sol Number: 437 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038437
#>
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 date as J00##### (and set Search term)
Perihelion occurred in 2024 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2024/05/08 Next: (estimated) 2026/03/06
Perihelion occurred in 2022 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2022/06/21 Next: (actual) 2024/05/08
Aphelion Earth Dates: Next: 2027/03/04 Earlier: 2025/04/16, 2023/05/30, 2021/07/12, 2019/08/25, 2017/10/07, 2015/11/20
Aphelion occurred at--- Ls 071 on Sol 152.
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.
Aphelion of Mars is due March 04, 2027 Sol 151-152 Note velocity of Mars was 22.0 km/s nearing Aphelion (21.97 km/s)
===
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 209,041,963 km [26.2 km/s] Difference is -099065 <= -4128 km/hour at 12.0 on 02/06 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 209,141,028 km [26.2 km/s] Difference is -100891 <= -4204 km/hour at 12.0 on 02/05 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 209,241,919 km [26.2 km/s] Difference is -102660 <= -4278 km/hour at 12.0 on 02/04 (time 12:00) (24.0 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.
Next ahead: Star above path TYC 6348-1691-1 RA 20h 55m 31.3s Day 0 just ahead of 8 hours
three galaxies above path PGC 867186 RA 20h 53m 56.6s – Day 0 just ahead of 8 – Day 1 just past Mars
====*====*===
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 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
Light travel time today is between 19 and 20 minutes. Communications delay would be 38+ minutes round trip.
=== Time estimate will change below 342
Earth Distance in km: 2026/02/06 354,819,939 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/02/05 355,009,939 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/02/04 355,198,763 (decreasing)
<<#
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 Year 36. 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.
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 439 is in Month 16 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary.
Month 16 extends from Sol 419 through 446. <<== There are 28 days in Month 16. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 57#p154257
Sol 439 is Saturday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 413 was a Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 450 of Year 38
##
The Next New Year's on Mars will occur when Solar Longitude reaches 360 degrees. Year 38 started November 12, 2024 on Earth
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
Copyright the Mars Society All Rights Reserved
Month 16 of 24: Fourth month of the 3rd Quarter and Second Half
Offline
Like button can go here
Place holder for today's Calendar update:
[51.4792N, 0.0000E] 02/07/2026, 13:00:01 Europe/London
Object: Mars (open sky map)
RA 20h 58m 30.9s Dec -18° 15' 07.7" Appar J2000
Mag: 1.10 (Estimated: JPL) Const: Capricornus
Sun Dist: 208,944,729 km [26.2 km/s]
Earth Dist: 354,628,742 km [56.3 km/s]
Martian Year:
38
Martian Astronomical Month:
8
Solar longitude Ls:
221.2
Sol number:
440
Next ahead: Star above path TYC 6348-1691-1 RA 20h 55m 31.3s Day 0 just ahead of 8 hours
three galaxies above path PGC 867186 RA 20h 53m 56.6s – Day 0 just ahead of 8 – Day 1 just past Mars
Total number of registered users: 19,630
Total number of topics: 8,976
Total number of posts: 233,584
Offline
Like button can go here
===
Today on Mars: 0038/16/22 Sunday Days of the week OFFSET 6 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth )
Sol 440 Business Month 16 Fourth month of Quarter 3 of Year 38
Today on Earth: 2026/02/07 Saturday Earth Date) Post Title: Today on Mars
====*====*==
To see how this calendar works, we show the standard 28 day month at the bottom of this daily report.
There are 20 months of 28 Sols and 4 months of 27 Sols at the end of the four six-month quarters.
New Years Eve is extended to align the Business Calendar for Mars with the Astronomical calendar.
Business and Astronomical both start at zero (to the nanosecond) on New Year's Day.
This calendar has been in operation for two full Mars years (36 and 37). We are in Year 38
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: 7 <<== The Astronomical month will increment when longitude reaches 210 degrees
===
Solar Longitude: 221.2 Sol Number: 440 Change in degrees is +.7 Julian date is: J0038440
Solar Longitude: 220.5 Sol Number: 439 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038439
Solar Longitude: 219.9 Sol Number: 438 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038438
#>
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 date as J00##### (and set Search term)
Perihelion occurred in 2024 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2024/05/08 Next: (estimated) 2026/03/06
Perihelion occurred in 2022 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2022/06/21 Next: (actual) 2024/05/08
Aphelion Earth Dates: Next: 2027/03/04 Earlier: 2025/04/16, 2023/05/30, 2021/07/12, 2019/08/25, 2017/10/07, 2015/11/20
Aphelion occurred at--- Ls 071 on Sol 152.
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.
Aphelion of Mars is due March 04, 2027 Sol 151-152 Note velocity of Mars was 22.0 km/s nearing Aphelion (21.97 km/s)
===
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 208,944,729 km [26.2 km/s] Difference is -097234 <= -4051 km/hour at 12.0 on 02/07 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 209,041,963 km [26.2 km/s] Difference is -099065 <= -4128 km/hour at 12.0 on 02/06 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 209,141,028 km [26.2 km/s] Difference is -100891 <= -4204 km/hour at 12.0 on 02/05 (time 12:00) (24.0 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.
Next ahead: Galaxy below path PGC 870543 RA 20h 59m 26.1s Day 0
Star above path TYC 6348-1691-1 RA 20h 55m 31.3s Day 0 just ahead of 8 hours – Day 1 at edge 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.
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
Light travel time today is between 19 and 20 minutes. Communications delay would be 38+ minutes round trip.
=== Time estimate will change below 342
Earth Distance in km: 2026/02/07 354,628,742 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/02/06 354,819,939 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/02/05 355,009,939 (decreasing)
<<#
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 Year 36. 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.
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 440 is in Month 16 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary.
Month 16 extends from Sol 419 through 446. <<== There are 28 days in Month 16. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 57#p154257
Sol 440 is Sunday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 413 was a Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 450 of Year 38
##
The Next New Year's on Mars will occur when Solar Longitude reaches 360 degrees. Year 38 started November 12, 2024 on Earth
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
Copyright the Mars Society All Rights Reserved
Month 16 of 24: Fourth month of the 3rd Quarter and Second Half
Offline
Like button can go here
Place holder for today's Calendar update
51.4792N, 0.0000E] 02/08/2026, 13:00:07 Europe/London
Object: Mars (open sky map)
RA 21h 01m 41.2s Dec -18° 02' 01.6" Appar J2000
Mag: 1.10 (Estimated: JPL) Const: Capricornus
Sun Dist: 208,849,336 km [26.2 km/s]
Earth Dist: 354,436,333 km [56.2 km/s]
Martian Year:
38
Martian Astronomical Month:
8
Solar longitude Ls:
221.8
Sol number:
441
Total number of registered users: 19,630
Total number of topics: 8,976
Total number of posts: 233,617
Next ahead: Galaxy below path PGC 870543 RA 20h 59m 26.1s Day 0
Star above path TYC 6348-1691-1 RA 20h 55m 31.3s Day 0 just ahead of 8 hours – Day 1 at edge of view
Offline
Like button can go here
===
Today on Mars: 0038/16/23 Monday Days of the week OFFSET 6 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth )
Sol 441 Business Month 16 Fourth month of Quarter 3 of Year 38
Today on Earth: 2026/02/08 Sunday Earth Date) Post Title: Today on Mars
====*====*==
To see how this calendar works, we show the standard 28 day month at the bottom of this daily report.
There are 20 months of 28 Sols and 4 months of 27 Sols at the end of the four six-month quarters.
New Years Eve is extended to align the Business Calendar for Mars with the Astronomical calendar.
Business and Astronomical both start at zero (to the nanosecond) on New Year's Day.
This calendar has been in operation for two full Mars years (36 and 37). We are in Year 38
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: 7 <<== The Astronomical month will increment when longitude reaches 210 degrees
===
Solar Longitude: 221.8 Sol Number: 441 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038441
Solar Longitude: 221.2 Sol Number: 440 Change in degrees is +.7 Julian date is: J0038440
Solar Longitude: 220.5 Sol Number: 439 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038439
#>
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 date as J00##### (and set Search term)
Perihelion occurred in 2024 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2024/05/08 Next: (estimated) 2026/03/06
Perihelion occurred in 2022 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2022/06/21 Next: (actual) 2024/05/08
Aphelion Earth Dates: Next: 2027/03/04 Earlier: 2025/04/16, 2023/05/30, 2021/07/12, 2019/08/25, 2017/10/07, 2015/11/20
Aphelion occurred at--- Ls 071 on Sol 152.
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.
Aphelion of Mars is due March 04, 2027 Sol 151-152 Note velocity of Mars was 22.0 km/s nearing Aphelion (21.97 km/s)
===
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 208,849,336 km [26.2 km/s] Difference is -95393 <= -3975 km/hour at 12.0 on 02/08 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 208,944,729 km [26.2 km/s] Difference is -97234 <= -4051 km/hour at 12.0 on 02/07 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 209,041,963 km [26.2 km/s] Difference is -99065 <= -4128 km/hour at 12.0 on 02/06 (time 12:00) (24.0 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.
Next ahead: PGC 876254 RA 21h 02m 41.7s above path Day 0
Galaxy below path PGC 870543 RA 20h 59m 26.1s Day 0 Day 1 past 8 hours
====*====*===
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 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
Light travel time today is between 19 and 20 minutes. Communications delay would be 38+ minutes round trip.
=== Time estimate will change below 342
Earth Distance in km: 2026/02/08 354,436,333 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/02/07 354,628,742 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/02/06 354,819,939 (decreasing)
<<#
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 Year 36. 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.
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 441 is in Month 16 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary.
Month 16 extends from Sol 419 through 446. <<== There are 28 days in Month 16. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 57#p154257
Sol 441 is Monday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 413 was a Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 450 of Year 38
##
The Next New Year's on Mars will occur when Solar Longitude reaches 360 degrees. Year 38 started November 12, 2024 on Earth
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
Copyright the Mars Society All Rights Reserved
Month 16 of 24: Fourth month of the 3rd Quarter and Second Half
Offline
Like button can go here
Place holder for today's Calendar update.
[51.4792N, 0.0000E] 02/09/2026, 13:00:00 Europe/London
Object: Mars (open sky map)
RA 21h 04m 51.0s Dec -17° 48' 43.9" Appar J2000
Mag: 1.09 (Estimated: JPL) Const: Capricornus
Sun Dist: 208,755,817 km [26.3 km/s]
Earth Dist: 354,242,747 km [56.2 km/s]
Martian Year:
38
Martian Astroomical Month:
8
Solar longitude Ls:
222.4
Sol number:
442
Next ahead: PGC 876254 RA 21h 02m 41.7s above path Day 0
Galaxy below path PGC 870543 RA 20h 59m 26.1s Day 0 Day 1 past 8 hours
Offline
Like button can go here
===
Today on Mars: 0038/16/24 Tuesday Days of the week OFFSET 6 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth )
Sol 442 Business Month 16 Fourth month of Quarter 3 of Year 38
Today on Earth: 2026/02/09 Monday Earth Date) Post Title: Today on Mars
====*====*==
To see how this calendar works, we show the standard 28 day month at the bottom of this daily report.
There are 20 months of 28 Sols and 4 months of 27 Sols at the end of the four six-month quarters.
New Years Eve is extended to align the Business Calendar for Mars with the Astronomical calendar.
Business and Astronomical both start at zero (to the nanosecond) on New Year's Day.
This calendar has been in operation for two full Mars years (36 and 37). We are in Year 38
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: 7 <<== The Astronomical month will increment when longitude reaches 210 degrees
===
Solar Longitude: 222.4 Sol Number: 442 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038442
Solar Longitude: 221.8 Sol Number: 441 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038441
Solar Longitude: 221.2 Sol Number: 440 Change in degrees is +.7 Julian date is: J0038440
#>
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 date as J00##### (and set Search term)
Perihelion occurred in 2024 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2024/05/08 Next: (estimated) 2026/03/06
Perihelion occurred in 2022 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2022/06/21 Next: (actual) 2024/05/08
Aphelion Earth Dates: Next: 2027/03/04 Earlier: 2025/04/16, 2023/05/30, 2021/07/12, 2019/08/25, 2017/10/07, 2015/11/20
Aphelion occurred at--- Ls 071 on Sol 152.
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.
Aphelion of Mars is due March 04, 2027 Sol 151-152 Note velocity of Mars was 22.0 km/s nearing Aphelion (21.97 km/s)
===
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 208,755,817 km [26.3 km/s] Difference is -93521 <= -3897 km/hour at 12.0 on 02/09 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 208,849,336 km [26.2 km/s] Difference is -95393 <= -3975 km/hour at 12.0 on 02/08 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 208,944,729 km [26.2 km/s] Difference is -97234 <= -4051 km/hour at 12.0 on 02/07 (time 12:00) (24.0 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.
Next ahead: galaxy above 8 hours marker PGC 891067 RA 21h 05m 11.2s Day 0
PGC 876254 RA 21h 02m 41.7s above path Day 0 Day 1 past 8 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.
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
Light travel time today is between 19 and 20 minutes. Communications delay would be 38+ minutes round trip.
=== Time estimate will change below 342
Earth Distance in km: 2026/02/09 354,242,747 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/02/08 354,436,333 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/02/07 354,628,742 (decreasing)
<<#
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 Year 36. 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.
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 442 is in Month 16 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary.
Month 16 extends from Sol 419 through 446. <<== There are 28 days in Month 16. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 57#p154257
Sol 442 is Tuesday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 413 was a Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 450 of Year 38
##
The Next New Year's on Mars will occur when Solar Longitude reaches 360 degrees. Year 38 started November 12, 2024 on Earth
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
Copyright the Mars Society All Rights Reserved
Month 16 of 24: Fourth month of the 3rd Quarter and Second Half
Offline
Like button can go here
Place holder for today's Calendar update:
[51.4792N, 0.0000E] 02/10/2026, 13:00:00 Europe/London
Object: Mars (open sky map)
RA 21h 08m 00.8s Dec -17° 35' 15.1" Appar J2000
Mag: 1.08 (Estimated: JPL) Const: Capricornus
Sun Dist: 208,664,162 km [26.3 km/s]
Earth Dist: 354,047,937 km [56.2 km/s]
Martian Year:
38
Martian Astronomical Month:
8
Solar longitude Ls:
223
Sol number:
443
Total number of registered users: 19,630
Total number of topics: 8,978
Total number of posts: 233,672
Next ahead: galaxy above 8 hours marker PGC 891067 RA 21h 05m 11.2s Day 0
PGC 876254 RA 21h 02m 41.7s above path Day 0 Day 1 past 8 hours marker
For SpaceNut ... Thank you for keeping the Recap going despite the current challenges!
I meant what I said about staying out of your way, so you and kbd512 can make progress.
You are learning how to work with your AI friends. The history is saved by account and possibly by browser.
What I have learned to do is to access Gemini or ChatGPT on a given computer using a given email and then keep that going.
I do ** not ** hop around, but instead let each AI build up history that it can use to refresh itself.
Keep in mind that you get a NEW (completely new) instance of software that "lives" for a few nanoseconds. In that time it has to read all your history plus your new query, and then read oceans of data to try to formulate an answer. I find that new instances can take the lazy path and not read history, so I have to remind them to read the history from time to time.
I read housekeeping. If you want me to post the Recap numbers in the Image Server I can do that.
I could also put the numbers calculator up on a web site, but I am currently focused on the robot arm problem and do not want to take the time.
(th)
Offline
Like button can go here
===
Today on Mars: 0038/16/26 Wednesday Days of the week OFFSET 6 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth )
Sol 443 Business Month 16 Fourth month of Quarter 3 of Year 38
Today on Earth: 2026/02/10 Tuesday Earth Date) Post Title: Today on Mars
====*====*==
To see how this calendar works, we show the standard 28 day month at the bottom of this daily report.
There are 20 months of 28 Sols and 4 months of 27 Sols at the end of the four six-month quarters.
New Years Eve is extended to align the Business Calendar for Mars with the Astronomical calendar.
Business and Astronomical both start at zero (to the nanosecond) on New Year's Day.
This calendar has been in operation for two full Mars years (36 and 37). We are in Year 38
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: 7 <<== The Astronomical month will increment when longitude reaches 210 degrees
===
Solar Longitude: 223.0 Sol Number: 443 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038443
Solar Longitude: 222.4 Sol Number: 442 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038442
Solar Longitude: 221.8 Sol Number: 441 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038441
#>
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 date as J00##### (and set Search term)
Perihelion occurred in 2024 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2024/05/08 Next: (estimated) 2026/03/06
Perihelion occurred in 2022 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2022/06/21 Next: (actual) 2024/05/08
Aphelion Earth Dates: Next: 2027/03/04 Earlier: 2025/04/16, 2023/05/30, 2021/07/12, 2019/08/25, 2017/10/07, 2015/11/20
Aphelion occurred at--- Ls 071 on Sol 152.
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.
Aphelion of Mars is due March 04, 2027 Sol 151-152 Note velocity of Mars was 22.0 km/s nearing Aphelion (21.97 km/s)
===
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 208,664,162 km [26.3 km/s] Difference is -91656 <= -3819 km/hour at 12.0 on 02/10 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 208,755,817 km [26.3 km/s] Difference is -93521 <= -3897 km/hour at 12.0 on 02/09 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 208,849,336 km [26.2 km/s] Difference is -95393 <= -3975 km/hour at 12.0 on 02/08 (time 12:00) (24.0 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.
Next ahead: Star above path TYC 6350-300-1 RA 21h 09m 15.6s Day 0
PGC 891067 RA 21h 05m 11.2s Day 0 Day 1 <gone>
====*====*===
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 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
Light travel time today is between 19 and 20 minutes. Communications delay would be 38+ minutes round trip.
=== Time estimate will change below 342
Earth Distance in km: 2026/02/10 354,047,937 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/02/09 354,242,747 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/02/08 354,436,333 (decreasing)
<<#
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 Year 36. 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.
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 443 is in Month 16 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary.
Month 16 extends from Sol 419 through 446. <<== There are 28 days in Month 16. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 57#p154257
Sol 443 is Wednesday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 413 was a Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 450 of Year 38
##
The Next New Year's on Mars will occur when Solar Longitude reaches 360 degrees. Year 38 started November 12, 2024 on Earth
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
Copyright the Mars Society All Rights Reserved
Month 16 of 24: Fourth month of the 3rd Quarter and Second Half
Offline
Like button can go here
Place holder for Wednesday
Daily Calendar data for Wednesday 2026/02/11
[51.4792N, 0.0000E] 02/11/2026, 13:00:02 Europe/London
Object: Mars (open sky map)
RA 21h 11m 10.0s Dec -17° 21' 34.4" Appar J2000
Mag: 1.08 (Estimated: JPL) Const: Capricornus
Sun Dist: 208,574,391 km [26.3 km/s]
Earth Dist: 353,851,908 km [56.2 km/s]
Martian Year:
38
Martian Astronomical Month:
8
Solar longitude Ls:
223.6
Sol number:
444
Offline
Like button can go here
===
Today on Mars: 0038/16/26 Thursday Days of the week OFFSET 6 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth )
Sol 444 Business Month 16 Fourth month of Quarter 3 of Year 38
Today on Earth: 2026/02/11 Wednesday Earth Date) Post Title: Today on Mars
====*====*==
To see how this calendar works, we show the standard 28 day month at the bottom of this daily report.
There are 20 months of 28 Sols and 4 months of 27 Sols at the end of the four six-month quarters.
New Years Eve is extended to align the Business Calendar for Mars with the Astronomical calendar.
Business and Astronomical both start at zero (to the nanosecond) on New Year's Day.
This calendar has been in operation for two full Mars years (36 and 37). We are in Year 38
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: 7 <<== The Astronomical month will increment when longitude reaches 210 degrees
===
Solar Longitude: 223.6 Sol Number: 444 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038444
Solar Longitude: 223.0 Sol Number: 443 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038443
Solar Longitude: 222.4 Sol Number: 442 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038442
#>
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 date as J00##### (and set Search term)
Perihelion occurred in 2024 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2024/05/08 Next: (estimated) 2026/03/06
Perihelion occurred in 2022 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2022/06/21 Next: (actual) 2024/05/08
Aphelion Earth Dates: Next: 2027/03/04 Earlier: 2025/04/16, 2023/05/30, 2021/07/12, 2019/08/25, 2017/10/07, 2015/11/20
Aphelion occurred at--- Ls 071 on Sol 152.
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.
Aphelion of Mars is due March 04, 2027 Sol 151-152 Note velocity of Mars was 22.0 km/s nearing Aphelion (21.97 km/s)
===
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 208,574,391 km [26.3 km/s] Difference is -89771 <= -3740 km/hour at 12.0 on 02/11 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 208,664,162 km [26.3 km/s] Difference is -91656 <= -3819 km/hour at 12.0 on 02/10 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 208,755,817 km [26.3 km/s] Difference is -93521 <= -3897 km/hour at 12.0 on 02/09 (time 12:00) (24.0 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.
Next ahead: Galaxy PGC 886553 RA 21h 11m 34.8s Day 0 -
Star above path TYC 6350-300-1 RA 21h 09m 15.6s Day 0 Day 1 Above 4 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.
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
Light travel time today is between 19 and 20 minutes. Communications delay would be 38+ minutes round trip.
=== Time estimate will change below 342
Earth Distance in km: 2026/02/11 353,851,908 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/02/10 354,047,937 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/02/09 354,242,747 (decreasing)
<<#
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 Year 36. 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.
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 444 is in Month 16 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary.
Month 16 extends from Sol 419 through 446. <<== There are 28 days in Month 16. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 57#p154257
Sol 444 is Thursday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 413 was a Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 450 of Year 38
##
The Next New Year's on Mars will occur when Solar Longitude reaches 360 degrees. Year 38 started November 12, 2024 on Earth
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
Copyright the Mars Society All Rights Reserved
Month 16 of 24: Fourth month of the 3rd Quarter and Second Half
Offline
Like button can go here
Place holder for Thursday:
[51.4792N, 0.0000E] 02/12/2026, 13:00:17 Europe/London
Object: Mars (open sky map)
RA 21h 14m 18.8s Dec -17° 07' 43.2" Appar J2000
Mag: 1.08 (Estimated: JPL) Const: Capricornus
Sun Dist: 208,486,504 km [26.3 km/s]
Earth Dist: 353,654,631 km [56.2 km/s]
Martian Year:
38
Martian Astronomical Month:
8
Solar longitude Ls:
224.3
Sol number:
445
Total number of registered users: 19,630
Total number of topics: 8,979
Total number of posts: 233,701
Who is online
In total there are 410 users online :: 0 registered, 0 hidden and 410 guests (based on users active over the past 5 minutes)
Most users ever online was 6169 on Fri Feb 06, 2026 4:17 am
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===
Today on Mars: 0038/16/27 Friday Days of the week OFFSET 6 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth )
Sol 445 Business Month 16 Fourth month of Quarter 3 of Year 38
Today on Earth: 2026/02/12 Thursday Earth Date) Post Title: Today on Mars
====*====*==
To see how this calendar works, we show the standard 28 day month at the bottom of this daily report.
There are 20 months of 28 Sols and 4 months of 27 Sols at the end of the four six-month quarters.
New Years Eve is extended to align the Business Calendar for Mars with the Astronomical calendar.
Business and Astronomical both start at zero (to the nanosecond) on New Year's Day.
This calendar has been in operation for two full Mars years (36 and 37). We are in Year 38
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: 7 <<== The Astronomical month will increment when longitude reaches 210 degrees
===
Solar Longitude: 224.3 Sol Number: 445 Change in degrees is +.7 Julian date is: J0038445
Solar Longitude: 223.6 Sol Number: 444 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038444
Solar Longitude: 223.0 Sol Number: 443 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038443
#>
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 date as J00##### (and set Search term)
Perihelion occurred in 2024 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2024/05/08 Next: (estimated) 2026/03/06
Perihelion occurred in 2022 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2022/06/21 Next: (actual) 2024/05/08
Aphelion Earth Dates: Next: 2027/03/04 Earlier: 2025/04/16, 2023/05/30, 2021/07/12, 2019/08/25, 2017/10/07, 2015/11/20
Aphelion occurred at--- Ls 071 on Sol 152.
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.
Aphelion of Mars is due March 04, 2027 Sol 151-152 Note velocity of Mars was 22.0 km/s nearing Aphelion (21.97 km/s)
===
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 208,486,504 km [26.3 km/s] Difference is -87887 <= -3662 km/hour at 12.0 on 02/12 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 208,574,391 km [26.3 km/s] Difference is -89771 <= -3740 km/hour at 12.0 on 02/11 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 208,664,162 km [26.3 km/s] Difference is -91656 <= -3819 km/hour at 12.0 on 02/10 (time 12:00) (24.0 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.
Next ahead: Two stars in path TYC 6351-339-1 RA 21h 14m 32.0s Day 0
Galaxy PGC 886553 RA 21h 11m 34.8s Day 0 – Day 1 past 8 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.
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
Light travel time today is between 19 and 20 minutes. Communications delay would be 38+ minutes round trip.
=== Time estimate will change below 342
Earth Distance in km: 2026/02/12 353,654,631 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/02/11 353,851,908 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/02/10 354,047,937 (decreasing)
<<#
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 Year 36. 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.
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 445 is in Month 16 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary.
Month 16 extends from Sol 419 through 446. <<== There are 28 days in Month 16. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 57#p154257
Sol 445 is Friday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 413 was a Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 450 of Year 38
##
The Next New Year's on Mars will occur when Solar Longitude reaches 360 degrees. Year 38 started November 12, 2024 on Earth
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
Copyright the Mars Society All Rights Reserved
Month 16 of 24: Fourth month of the 3rd Quarter and Second Half
Offline
Like button can go here
Place Holder for today's Calendar update:
[51.4792N, 0.0000E] 02/13/2026, 13:00:00 Europe/London
Object: Mars (open sky map)
RA 21h 17m 27.1s Dec -16° 53' 40.9" Appar J2000
Mag: 1.06 (Estimated: JPL) Const: Capricornus
Sun Dist: 208,400,560 km [26.3 km/s]
Earth Dist: 353,456,210 km [56.2 km/s]
Who is online
In total there are 174 users online :: 0 registered, 0 hidden and 174 guests (based on users active over the past 5 minutes)
Most users ever online was 6169 on Fri Feb 06, 2026 4:17 am
Martian Year:
38
Martian Astronomical Month:
8
Solar longitude Ls:
224.9
Sol number:
446
Next ahead: Two stars in path TYC 6351-339-1 RA 21h 14m 32.0s Day 0
Galaxy PGC 886553 RA 21h 11m 34.8s Day 0 – Day 1 past 8 hours marker
Numbers 238034-238041
Successfully generated 8 URLs from PID 238034 to 238041:
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===
Today on Mars: 0038/16/28 Saturday Days of the week OFFSET 6 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth )
Sol 446 Business Month 16 Fourth month of Quarter 3 of Year 38
Today on Earth: 2026/02/13 Friday Earth Date) Post Title: Today on Mars
====*====*==
To see how this calendar works, we show the standard 28 day month at the bottom of this daily report.
There are 20 months of 28 Sols and 4 months of 27 Sols at the end of the four six-month quarters.
New Years Eve is extended to align the Business Calendar for Mars with the Astronomical calendar.
Business and Astronomical both start at zero (to the nanosecond) on New Year's Day.
This calendar has been in operation for two full Mars years (36 and 37). We are in Year 38
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: 8 <<== The Astronomical month will increment when longitude reaches 240 degrees
===
Solar Longitude: 224.9 Sol Number: 446 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038446
Solar Longitude: 224.3 Sol Number: 445 Change in degrees is +.7 Julian date is: J0038445
Solar Longitude: 223.6 Sol Number: 444 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038444
#>
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 date as J00##### (and set Search term)
Perihelion occurred in 2024 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2024/05/08 Next: (estimated) 2026/03/06
Perihelion occurred in 2022 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2022/06/21 Next: (actual) 2024/05/08
Aphelion Earth Dates: Next: 2027/03/04 Earlier: 2025/04/16, 2023/05/30, 2021/07/12, 2019/08/25, 2017/10/07, 2015/11/20
Aphelion occurred at--- Ls 071 on Sol 152.
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.
Aphelion of Mars is due March 04, 2027 Sol 151-152 Note velocity of Mars was 22.0 km/s nearing Aphelion (21.97 km/s)
===
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 208,400,560 km [26.3 km/s] Difference is -85944 <= -3581 km/hour at 12.0 on 02/13 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 208,486,504 km [26.3 km/s] Difference is -87887 <= -3662 km/hour at 12.0 on 02/12 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 208,574,391 km [26.3 km/s] Difference is -89771 <= -3740 km/hour at 12.0 on 02/11 (time 12:00) (24.0 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.
Next ahead: Star above path TYC 6347-1571-1 RA 21h 18m 25.7s Day 0
Two stars in path TYC 6351-339-1 RA 21h 14m 32.0s Day 0 Day 1 in lower right corner 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.
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
Light travel time today is between 19 and 20 minutes. Communications delay would be 38+ minutes round trip.
=== Time estimate will change below 342
Earth Distance in km: 2026/02/13 353,456,210 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/02/12 353,654,631 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/02/11 353,851,908 (decreasing)
<<#
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 Year 36. 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.
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 446 is in Month 16 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary.
Month 16 extends from Sol 419 through 446. <<== There are 28 days in Month 16. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 57#p154257
Sol 446 is Saturday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 413 was a Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 450 of Year 38
##
The Next New Year's on Mars will occur when Solar Longitude reaches 360 degrees. Year 38 started November 12, 2024 on Earth
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
Copyright the Mars Society All Rights Reserved
Month 16 of 24: Fourth month of the 3rd Quarter and Second Half
Offline
Like button can go here
Place holder for today's Calendar update
[51.4792N, 0.0000E] 02/14/2026, 13:00:03 Europe/London
Object: Mars (open sky map)
RA 21h 20m 34.9s Dec -16° 39' 27.7" Appar J2000
Mag: 1.05 (Estimated: JPL) Const: Capricornus
Sun Dist: 208,316,516 km [26.3 km/s]
Earth Dist: 353,256,521 km [56.2 km/s]
Martian Year:
38
Martian Astronomical Month:
8
Solar longitude Ls:
225.5
Sol number:
447
Total number of registered users: 19,630
Total number of topics: 8,980
Total number of posts: 233,744
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===
Today on Mars: 0038/17/01 Sunday Days of the week OFFSET 6 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth )
Sol 447 Business Month 17 Fifth month of Quarter 3 of Year 38
Today on Earth: 2026/02/14 Saturday Earth Date) Post Title: Today on Mars
====*====*==
To see how this calendar works, we show the standard 28 day month at the bottom of this daily report.
There are 20 months of 28 Sols and 4 months of 27 Sols at the end of the four six-month quarters.
New Years Eve is extended to align the Business Calendar for Mars with the Astronomical calendar.
Business and Astronomical both start at zero (to the nanosecond) on New Year's Day.
This calendar has been in operation for two full Mars years (36 and 37). We are in Year 38
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 Interval in 12 interval format: 8 <<== The Astronomical interval
Check Longitude: the interval will increment when longitude reaches 240 degrees
===
Solar Longitude: 225.5 Sol Number: 447 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038447
Solar Longitude: 224.9 Sol Number: 446 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038446
Solar Longitude: 224.3 Sol Number: 445 Change in degrees is +.7 Julian date is: J0038445
#>
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 date as J00##### (and set Search term)
Perihelion occurred in 2024 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2024/05/08 Next: (estimated) 2026/03/06
Perihelion occurred in 2022 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2022/06/21 Next: (actual) 2024/05/08
Aphelion Earth Dates: Next: 2027/03/04 Earlier: 2025/04/16, 2023/05/30, 2021/07/12, 2019/08/25, 2017/10/07, 2015/11/20
Aphelion occurred at--- Ls 071 on Sol 152.
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.
Aphelion of Mars is due March 04, 2027 Sol 151-152 Note velocity of Mars was 22.0 km/s nearing Aphelion (21.97 km/s)
===
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 208,316,516 km [26.3 km/s] Difference is -84044 <= -3502 km/hour at 12.0 on 02/14 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 208,400,560 km [26.3 km/s] Difference is -85944 <= -3581 km/hour at 12.0 on 02/13 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 208,486,504 km [26.3 km/s] Difference is -87887 <= -3662 km/hour at 12.0 on 02/12 (time 12:00) (24.0 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.
Next ahead: Star above 8 hours marker Day 0 TYC 6360-178-1 RA 21h 20m 31.0s
Star above path TYC 6347-1571-1 RA 21h 18m 25.7s Day 0 Day 1 above 8 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.
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
Light travel time today is between 19 and 20 minutes. Communications delay would be 38+ minutes round trip.
=== Time estimate will change below 342
Earth Distance in km: 2026/02/14 353,256,521 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/02/13 353,456,210 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/02/12 353,654,631 (decreasing)
<<#
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 Year 36. 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.
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 447 is in Month 17 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary.
Month 17 extends from Sol 447 through 474. <<== There are 28 days in Month 17. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 57#p154257
Sol 447 is Sunday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 413 was a Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 450 of Year 38
##
The Next New Year's on Mars will occur when Solar Longitude reaches 360 degrees. Year 38 started November 12, 2024 on Earth
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
Copyright the Mars Society All Rights Reserved
Month 17 of 24: << There are 28 days in Month 17. Fifth month of Q3
Offline
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Place holder for today's Calendar update:
[51.4792N, 0.0000E] 02/15/2026, 13:00:04 Europe/London
Object: Mars (open sky map)
RA 21h 23m 42.7s Dec -16° 25' 04.8" Appar J2000
Mag: 1.04 (Estimated: JPL) Const: Capricornus
Sun Dist: 208,234,406 km [26.3 km/s]
Earth Dist: 353,055,620 km [56.2 km/s]
Who is online
In total there are 2 users online :: 1 registered, 0 hidden and 1 guest (based on users active over the past 5 minutes)
Most users ever online was 6169 on Fri Feb 06, 2026 4:17 am
Martian Year:
38
Martian Astronomical Month:
8
Solar longitude Ls:
226.1
Sol number:
448
Total number of registered users: 19,630
Total number of topics: 8,981
Total number of posts: 233,764
Previous numbers: 238042 - 238058
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===
Today on Mars: 0038/17/02 Monday Days of the week OFFSET 6 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth )
Sol 448 Business Month 17 Fifth month of Quarter 3 of Year 38
Today on Earth: 2026/02/15 Sunday Earth Date) Post Title: Today on Mars
====*====*==
To see how this calendar works, we show the standard 28 day month at the bottom of this daily report.
There are 20 months of 28 Sols and 4 months of 27 Sols at the end of the four six-month quarters.
New Years Eve is extended to align the Business Calendar for Mars with the Astronomical calendar.
Business and Astronomical both start at zero (to the nanosecond) on New Year's Day.
This calendar has been in operation for two full Mars years (36 and 37). We are in Year 38
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 Interval in 12 interval format: 8 <<== The Astronomical interval
Check Longitude: the interval will increment when longitude reaches 240 degrees
===
Solar Longitude: 226.1 Sol Number: 448 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038449
Solar Longitude: 225.5 Sol Number: 447 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038447
Solar Longitude: 224.9 Sol Number: 446 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038446
#>
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 date as J00##### (and set Search term)
Perihelion occurred in 2024 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2024/05/08 Next: (estimated) 2026/03/06
Perihelion occurred in 2022 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2022/06/21 Next: (actual) 2024/05/08
Aphelion Earth Dates: Next: 2027/03/04 Earlier: 2025/04/16, 2023/05/30, 2021/07/12, 2019/08/25, 2017/10/07, 2015/11/20
Aphelion occurred at--- Ls 071 on Sol 152.
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.
Aphelion of Mars is due March 04, 2027 Sol 151-152 Note velocity of Mars was 22.0 km/s nearing Aphelion (21.97 km/s)
===
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 208,234,406 km [26.3 km/s] Difference is -82110 <= -3421 km/hour at 12.0 on 02/15 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 208,316,516 km [26.3 km/s] Difference is -84044 <= -3502 km/hour at 12.0 on 02/14 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 208,400,560 km [26.3 km/s] Difference is -85944 <= -3581 km/hour at 12.0 on 02/13 (time 12:00) (24.0 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.
Next ahead: Galaxy in path PGC 899602 21h 24m 39.7s Day 0
Star above 8 hours marker Day 0 TYC 6360-178-1 RA 21h 20m 31.0s Day 1 <gone>
====*====*===
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 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
Light travel time today is between 19 and 20 minutes. Communications delay would be 38+ minutes round trip.
=== Time estimate will change below 342
Earth Distance in km: 2026/02/15 353,055,620 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/02/14 353,256,521 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/02/13 353,456,210 (decreasing)
<<#
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 Year 36. 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.
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 448 is in Month 17 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary.
Month 17 extends from Sol 447 through 474. <<== There are 28 days in Month 17. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 57#p154257
Sol 448 is Monday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 413 was a Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 450 of Year 38
##
The Next New Year's on Mars will occur when Solar Longitude reaches 360 degrees. Year 38 started November 12, 2024 on Earth
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
Copyright the Mars Society All Rights Reserved
Month 17 of 24: << There are 28 days in Month 17. Fifth month of Q3
Offline
Like button can go here
Place holder for today's Calendar update:
[51.4792N, 0.0000E] 02/16/2026, 13:00:01 Europe/London
Object: Mars (open sky map)
RA 21h 26m 49.9s Dec -16° 10' 31.2" Appar J2000
Mag: 1.04 (Estimated: JPL) Const: Capricornus
Sun Dist: 208,154,244 km [26.3 km/s]
Earth Dist: 352,853,522 km [56.1 km/s]
Martian Year:
38
Martian Astronomical Month:
8
Solar longitude Ls:
226.8
Sol number:
449
Total number of registered users: 19,630
Total number of topics: 8,982
Total number of posts: 233,782
Who is online
In total there is 1 user online :: 0 registered, 0 hidden and 1 guest (based on users active over the past 5 minutes)
Most users ever online was 6169 on Fri Feb 06, 2026 4:17 am
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===
Today on Mars: 0038/17/03 Tuesday Days of the week OFFSET 6 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth )
Sol 449 Business Month 17 Fifth month of Quarter 3 of Year 38
Today on Earth: 2026/02/16 Monday Earth Date) Post Title: Today on Mars
====*====*==
To see how this calendar works, we show the standard 28 day month at the bottom of this daily report.
There are 20 months of 28 Sols and 4 months of 27 Sols at the end of the four six-month quarters.
New Years Eve is extended to align the Business Calendar for Mars with the Astronomical calendar.
Business and Astronomical both start at zero (to the nanosecond) on New Year's Day.
This calendar has been in operation for two full Mars years (36 and 37). We are in Year 38
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 Interval in 12 interval format: 8 <<== The Astronomical interval
Check Longitude: the interval will increment when longitude reaches 240 degrees
===
Solar Longitude: 226.8 Sol Number: 449 Change in degrees is +.7 Julian date is: J0038449
Solar Longitude: 226.1 Sol Number: 448 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038448
Solar Longitude: 225.5 Sol Number: 447 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038447
#>
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 date as J00##### (and set Search term)
Perihelion occurred in 2024 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2024/05/08 Next: (estimated) 2026/03/06
Perihelion occurred in 2022 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2022/06/21 Next: (actual) 2024/05/08
Aphelion Earth Dates: Next: 2027/03/04 Earlier: 2025/04/16, 2023/05/30, 2021/07/12, 2019/08/25, 2017/10/07, 2015/11/20
Aphelion occurred at--- Ls 071 on Sol 152.
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.
Aphelion of Mars is due March 04, 2027 Sol 151-152 Note velocity of Mars was 22.0 km/s nearing Aphelion (21.97 km/s)
===
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 208,154,244 km [26.3 km/s] Difference is -80162 <= -3340 km/hour at 12.0 on 02/16 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 208,234,406 km [26.3 km/s] Difference is -82110 <= -3421 km/hour at 12.0 on 02/15 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 208,316,516 km [26.3 km/s] Difference is -84044 <= -3502 km/hour at 12.0 on 02/14 (time 12:00) (24.0 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.
Next ahead: Star below path TYC 6360-527-1 RA 21h 27m 19.1s Day 0 -
Galaxy in path PGC 899602 21h 24m 39.7s Day 0 Day 1 after 4 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.
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
Light travel time today is between 19 and 20 minutes. Communications delay would be 38+ minutes round trip.
=== Time estimate will change below 342
Earth Distance in km: 2026/02/16 352,853,522 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/02/15 353,055,620 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/02/14 353,256,521 (decreasing)
<<#
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 Year 36. 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.
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 449 is in Month 17 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary.
Month 17 extends from Sol 447 through 474. <<== There are 28 days in Month 17. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 57#p154257
Sol 449 is Tuesday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 413 was a Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 450 of Year 38
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The Next New Year's on Mars will occur when Solar Longitude reaches 360 degrees. Year 38 started November 12, 2024 on Earth
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
Copyright the Mars Society All Rights Reserved
Month 17 of 24: << There are 28 days in Month 17. Fifth month of Q3
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