Time: 7:00 PM
Brief
This evening, I will forward the clock ahead by 15 minutes from yesterday's entry. Mercury is about to set and slightly visible from high elevations to avoid obstruction. Of course, atmospheric polluiton gets in the way as well. Besides that though, we have a trio seen in the southwest: the Moon, Mars, and red-giant star Antares. Looking at the first image, we see the two together with the Moon. As a result of the twilight sky, that sometimes helps notice the red color of each better with the eye alone. With Mars, it may seem much more faint however. The planet's orbit is displayed as well.
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As a result of Antartes' ecliptic latitude being a little over 4º south of the ecliptic and Mars being ecliptic latitude of only about 1º south, they will only get as close as about 3 1/2º. Many people confuse Antares for Mars, especially when the two are similar magnitudes, as they are now; Mars is far enough away from us to only be at magnitude +1.3, while Antares is about 1.1º. Over the next several evenings, they will be close enough to be seen close enough with binoculars. Watch Mars pass north of Antares as it continues to move slightly faster movement in prograde motion. Also, remember that with this "acceleration" (from our perspective) and the slowly-improving geometry of the west-southestern sky, we will start to see Mars a little higher in the sky at Sunset each week, between now and December.
The second image shows Antartes and Mars 4.2º separated, in a 7º binocular field.
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click on images to enlarge: courtesy of Starry Night Pro Plus, version 6.4.3, by Simulation Curriculum Corp.
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