Mars (Planet)
© NASA/Hubble Space Telescope
From Cambridge , Mars is visible in the evening sky, becoming accessible around 19:41 (EDT), 71° above your southern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. It will then reach its highest point in the sky at 19:47, 71° above your southern horizon. It will continue to be observable until around 02:16, when it sinks below 10° above your north-western horizon.
Name
Mars
|
Object type
Superior planet
|
Current position
Computed for: | 31 March 2025 |
Right ascension: | 07h41m [2] |
Declination: | +24°07' [2] |
Constellation: | Gemini |
Magnitude: | 0.43 (V) [1] |
Angular diameter: | 8.3 arcsec[2] |
Distance: | 1.13 AU 9.41 lightmin [2] |
Angular motion (speed): | 19.30 arcmin/day[2] |
Angular motion (pos ang): | 104.3° |
Orbital elements [2]
Semi-major axis: | 1.52 AU |
Eccentricity: | 0.093394 |
Inclination: | 1.85° |
Longitude ascending node: | 49.56° |
Argument of perihelion: | -73.50° |
Epoch of elements: | 01 January 2000 |
Mean Anomaly at epoch: | 19.39° |
Absolute mag (H): | -1.46 [1] |
Slope parameter (n): | 2.00 [1] |
Derived quantities
Perihelion: | 1.38 AU |
Aphelion: | 1.67 AU |
Orbital period: | 1.88 years |
Sources
[1] | Robin M. Green, Spherical Astronomy, 1985, ISBN 0-521-31779-7 |
[2] | Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Almanac, 2013, Urban & Seidelmann, Eds., Table 8.7, ISBN 978-1-891389-85-6 |
Events
16 Apr 2025 | – Mars at aphelion |
29 Jun 2025 | – Lunar occultation of Mars |
30 Nov 2025 | – Mars at apogee |
09 Jan 2026 | – Mars at solar conjunction |
26 Mar 2026 | – Mars at perihelion |
05 Oct 2026 | – Lunar occultation of Mars |
02 Nov 2026 | – Lunar occultation of Mars |
10 Jan 2027 | – Mars enters retrograde motion |
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