Mars Opposition taken by the Hubble Telescope. Credit: NASA |
Mars will be so close to Earth this week that amateur astronomers with backyard telescopes will be treated to a viewing of the Red Planet in great detail, including being able to see the Martian polar ice cap that is made up of regular water ice and frozen carbon-dioxide (commonly known as dry ice).
A full lunar eclipse will also occur on the night of April 14 and into the morning of April 15, depending on the viewer’s time zone.
These NASA videos explain when and where to watch the April 2014 total lunar eclipse (also known as a ‘Blood Moon’) that is the first of four full eclipses to make up a Tetrad. Video Credit: NASA JPL and Science@NASA.
Viewing area of the April 2014 Lunar Eclipse. Credit: NASA / JPL |
That means that Mars rises in the east just as the sun sets in the west, and Mars sets in the west just as the sun is rises in the east. But the alignment on April 8th wasn’t the closest that Mars and Earth were together. That’s because the planets’ orbits around the sun are elliptical instead of perfectly round.
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