Event Date: July 10th
Time: 9:00 PM
Brief
Although I have shown Mars and Saturn a few times as they become less separated, I haven't talked much about their orbits. Looking below, as I show them along with the celestial equator and the ecliptic. By doing this, we see Mars close to passing descending node (two weeks from today) and sinking fast below the ecliptic for weeks after that. Let's take a look to clarify, with Mars now only 19º separated from Saturn. In about a month, the two planets will be at their closest for this time.
Time: 9:00 PM
Brief
Although I have shown Mars and Saturn a few times as they become less separated, I haven't talked much about their orbits. Looking below, as I show them along with the celestial equator and the ecliptic. By doing this, we see Mars close to passing descending node (two weeks from today) and sinking fast below the ecliptic for weeks after that. Let's take a look to clarify, with Mars now only 19º separated from Saturn. In about a month, the two planets will be at their closest for this time.
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| click on images to enlarge: courtesy of Starry Night Pro Plus, version 6.4.3, by Simulation Curriculum Corp. |
Detailed
In the meantime, not only is Saturn much slower moving in the same direction; its orbit keeps it north of the ecliptic for another 7 years. By the time Saturn reaches the point of the sky that Mars will be in just seven months, the Red planet will have caught up with it twice...almost three times. Of course, since Saturn moves almost through 1/4 of the sky during that 7-year period, it means that Mars has to catch up with it, every time it revolves around the Sun. Mars revolves every 687 days (just over 98 weeks).
Saturn revolves roughly 1/15th the rate of Mars, meaning that Mars has to move about 1/15th further than one full revolution to catch up with Saturn for a conjunction with each revolution.
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