Mars apparition improving

Event Date: November 4th

Time: 5:30 PM (standard time)

Brief

Let's review the position of Mars, now that it is gradually appearing higher each evening when first visible.  Since the Red Planet is staying nearly the same magnitude this month, the slowly-improving geometry of the west-southwestern sky makes it easy to pick up low in nautical twilight with the eye.  With a telescope, try finding it during civil twilight, as shown in this image.  As noted above, remember that we are now back to standard time, and the Sun sets an extra hour earlier.

click on image to enlarge: courtesy of Starry Night Pro Plus, version 6.4.3, by Simulation Curriculum Corp.

 

Detailed

   Mars sets two hours, 6 minutes after the Sun this evening, and that gap stays the same for about a month.  Although the geometry of the sky improves between now and February in this part of the sky, let us not forget that Mars eventually has the Sun catch up with it, from our point of view.  Therefore, we eventually lose it in the Sun's glare, not seeing it again easily until the middle of next year as a morning target.  Until that time, still put a telescope on Mars, and try to pick up a little bit of color from its rust.  Remember that we continue to pull further from Mars daily and as a result, we see it slightly smaller as a disc between now and when we lose it to our eye.  At 4.5 arc-seconds, Mars is holding steady at +1.2 in magnitude.  As it approaches perihelion early next year, that will help keep it in the low +1 range, despite still moving further away from us towards conjunction [with the Sun].