Jeddah Astronomy | Mars will be at its closest distance from Earth next Thursday

The head of the Astronomical Society in Jeddah, Eng. Majed Abu Zahra, stated that the planet Mars will reach its closest distance from Earth, the “perigee point,” on Thursday, December 1, 2022, indicating that it will be within the range of 80 million kilometers, in a phenomenon that occurs approximately every two years and has no effect on our planet. .

Abu Zahra said: Because the size and illumination of the planet Mars increases in the night sky when it is close to the Earth, the days near its closest distance from us represent the best time to monitor it, in addition to its brightness currently exceeding all stars, and even the star of Sirius, the brightest star. in the night sky.

He added: This effect is clear because Mars is close to Earth in the solar system. It orbits a little farther from the Sun than us at an average distance of 227,388,763 km, and as a result has the greatest variation of all the planets in its distance from the Earth; Depending on whether the planets are on opposite sides of the sun or pass by each other.

And he added: Mars reaches its perihelion point almost at the time it passes by the Earth, and at this time the sun, Earth and Mars are arranged in a straight line and the earth is in the middle, and as a result Mars appears almost opposite the sun in the sky, a phenomenon called opposition, when Mars reaches the top It points in the sky at midnight and is visible all night.

And he continued: The arrival of Mars to the closest distance from Earth is associated almost simultaneously with the phenomenon of encounter, but the two events usually occur with a time interval of a few days now; Because the orbits of Earth and Mars around the sun are elliptical rather than circular, and are not exactly on the same level.

Abu Zahra said: Mars will be observed on the northeastern horizon after the beginning of the night, and it will remain visible until the dawn of the next day, and it must be emphasized that although Mars will be at the closest distance from Earth, it will appear to the observer with the naked eye as a reddish-orange point of light and its brightness is (-1). ) and through binoculars it can be seen as an optical disk.

He added: This is an opportunity to search for the very small Martian moon Phobos (fear) with a diameter of about 22.2 kilometers, but it is 7 times larger than the second moon Deimos (horror) with a diameter of about 12.4 kilometers, and both are not circular in shape, and are rarely seen in pictures of the planet. Al-Ahmar, which is believed to be closer to asteroids than to large moons such as Earth's moon, and it is possible that Mars caught it with the force of its gravity.

And he added: Mars is the only planet whose surface details can be seen from Earth, while Mercury is very small, while the other planets are covered with clouds, so it is an ideal event for everyone. Where Mars will be clearly and distinctly visible throughout the night, and it is easy to identify it in the dome of the sky.

And he continued: to see the details of the Mars disk; The observer needs to use an 8-inch telescope and larger, and it is preferable to use appropriate color filters to improve observation, as the green or blue filter will enhance the polar dome, and the red or orange filter will improve dark details, in addition to using a magnifying lens (Barlow) that connects to the eyepiece of the telescope to improve vision .

"Abu Zahra" said: "Dark areas and light areas can be seen on the disk of Mars due to differences in reflecting light, as the light areas represent deserts while the darker areas are rocks. In addition, the planet's north polar dome shines brightly and there are blue clouds spread over it that can be He observed it, and the reason for its blue color is that it consists of ice crystals of water and carbon dioxide that scatter the short blue wavelengths of sunlight, noting that it does not rain on Mars; Because its atmosphere is thin and the low temperatures and pressure mean that water can only exist there in the form of steam or ice.

He added: Since the Earth rotates on its axis about 40 minutes faster compared to Mars; Over the next few weeks, it is possible to see many surface features by telescope only, and when observing Mars from a dark location and a clear sky devoid of the presence of the moon, there is an opportunity to see the Mars satellites Phobos and Deimos through the telescope, but they are not visible to the naked eye.

He concluded by saying: In general, the coming weeks will give the opportunity to see different features of the surface of Mars during the rotation of the planet around its axis, and unlike most astronomical events that last for a short period or for one night, the period of this event will provide many opportunities for frequent monitoring and improving observation skills.