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Mars 2007
Updated January 23, 2008
Mars viewing is still interesting in January, but Earth pulls away thanks to its faster orbit around the sun. By February Mars is a fainter object, and less interesting in the telescopic view. The red planet is visible almost all night long. Look this month, although Mars begins to shrink rapidly.

January 11, 2008 Astronomers Rule Out Possibility of Asteroid Impact on Mars here. If you want to read more about Near Earth Objects, here's the NEO website.

JPL's Closest Approach 2007 Feature has an incredible Mars rotation movie and more. A 2007 viewing chronology for the 2007-2008 apparition of Mars is here.

This Hubble image depicts Mars in its orbit around the sun, showing the apparent relative size of the red planet. 2007's close encounter will compare in distance to the 1999 Opposition. Mars was 54 million miles from Earth at opposition on December 18th, 2007 and appeared as a 16 arc second diameter disk. For comparison, Saturn, minus its rings, spans about 18 arcseconds in apparent diameter this month - look for Saturn rising late evening, best seen well after midnight. Compare the two planets. Mars is 0.6 AU (54 million miles from Earth, while Saturn is 9.2 AU (855 million miles) from Earth. Look on the Hubble images and see the 1999 size of Mars as compared to the 2001, 2003 and 2005 planet size and distance.

On June 14, 2007 Mars appeared in the early morning sky as a small disk 6 arcseconds in diameter at 7.2° north declination. Between June 14 and December 24, Mars moved steadily northward at 3/4ths of a degree per week. From June 2007 through early April 2008 Mars will appear larger than 6 seconds of arc and remain above the celestial equator, well placed for viewing in both hemispheres.

Mars is closest to Earth on December 18, 2007 and reached opposition on December 24th, 2007. Mars grew in size and brightness as it neared Earth in its orbit around the sun. Here's a good link for celestial highlights for the current week. And my own monthly NASA podcast What's Up offers up some great viewing tips each month. This month features Mars, of course.

Mars news, facts and other good stuff

Akkana Peck covers Mars in the current edition of her "Shallow Sky" column published in the San Jose Astronomical Association (SJAA) Ephemeris. She'll cover Mars each month, moreso as the planet becomes more visible earlier in the evening.Check out November 2007 for a great description (and a nice graphic) about Mars retrograde motion.

Here are some good Mars links.

  • "Earth and Sky" has a chart for viewing the evening sky.
  • This is just a cool collection of Mars Animations but it is a few years old.
  • The Shallow Sky has lots of resources for amateur astronomers. Check out the Mars section. There are all sorts of good links on this page.
  • The Nine Planets check out the Mars section.
  • Mars apparent diameter in 2007/2008 Mars was 6 arcsec in diameter July 2007 and will reach 16 arcsec at opposition December 2007. At opposition Mars will is 55 million miles from Earth.
  • Mars apparent diameter in 2005 Mars was 20 arcsec in diameter at oppostion October 2005. At opposition in 2005 Mars was 43 million miles from Earth.
  • Mars apparent diameter in 2003 Mars was 25 arcsec in diameter at oppostion August 2003. At opposition in 2003 Mars was 35 million miles from Earth.
  • What's an arcsec anyway? Definition of astronomical measures: degree, arcmin, arcsec.
  • How large is Mars anyway? Mars is half the diameter of Earth as depicted in this cool downloadable poster from the NASA Mars Exploration Program.
  • Mars Fact sheet, a Mars to Earth comparison.
    • . Geology The Geology of Mars The six geologic processes that shape Mars past, present and future.
Sketches and images of Mars 2001-2005

Missions to Mars

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created by Jane Houston Jones
Index last updated: January 22, 2008