Mars Light Bright

June/July 2001
By the Mother Earth News editors 
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The planet is little more than half as wide as Earth and is usually quite far from us, so it is often outshined by a score or more of bright stars and looks like a tiny orange dot in telescopes. Every oth er year, however, Mars comes to "opposi tion" - appears opposite the sun in our sky - and is closer to Earth and dramatical ly brighter. This year's opposition is one of the two closest in 15 years. Not since 1988 has Mars shined so brightly or, in tele scopes, looked as big as it does this month.

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Mars is at opposition on June 13 and for several weeks around that time will rise fairly near sunset and set fairly near sunrise. By the last few hours of night, Venus will rise and outshine Mars. Even so, Venus shines a mild yellow-white. Mars is a more formidable sight with its campfire-orange color and steady stare, which may be why so many ancient cultures associated Mars with their god of war.

Mars will be closest to Earth - about 42 million miles away June 21. On nights with steady atmosphere, a decent telescope can reveal many types of grey and/or dark soil and a variety of other surface details.

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