“To mark the occasion, NASA scientists used the Hubble Space Telescope to capture an absolutely stunning view of Mars as it nears opposition”, according to a news report published by Space News. Mars and Earth will be closest they have been in 13 years on May 30, when the red planet will be only 46.8 million miles away.
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Two large meteorites hit the Red Planet millions of years apart, triggering a pair of mega-tsunamis that forever scarred the Martian landscape and yielded evidence of cold, salty oceans conducive to sustaining life, reveal scientists.
The “red” planet is now retrograding (appearing to move backwards) and on Sunday it will be aligned directly opposite the sun with the Earth lining up in the middle of the two. The distance between Mars and us will be at 47.2 million miles and will remain at 48 million miles just until the 12 of June. That means sometimes the planets are on opposite sides of the sun, known as Solar Conjunction, and sometimes, like tonight, Mars and Earth are on the same side as the sun. On this day, Mars will reach its Opposition and will be visible for the next few months.
“Mars comes around close to the Earth every 26 months”, said Mike Murray, manager/astronomer at the Delta College Planetarium in Bay City.
The first hints of life, in the form of bacteria, were developing on Earth while our neighbouring planet Mars could have been covered in vast salty oceans.
On May 20th, 21st, and 22nd, the bright Moon steps past the triangle of Mars, Antares, and Saturn in the southeastern evening sky. The final image shows a sharp, natural-colour view of Mars and reveals several prominent geological features, from smaller mountains and erosion channels to enormous canyons and volcanoes. “So provided it’s clear in the middle of the night, you can go out between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. and it will be directly overhead”.
Far to the right is the large dark region of Syrtis Major Planitia, one of the first things identified on the planet’s surface in the 17th century.
“We were trying to find shorelines on Mars like those we typically see on Earth, which is consistently distributed along a constant elevation”. Heavily cratered and eroded by the passage of time, this 2,800 mile (4,506 km) wide swathe of tortured terrain is believed to be among the oldest surface regions existing on the Red Planet today.
“And that means it’s the best time to look at Mars from Earth”.
We’re only days away from Mars opposition, and the Hubble Space Telescope is treating us to an fantastic close-up view of the Red Planet!
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Hubble launched in April 1990 aboard the space shuttle Discovery.
