Mars staying high enough; zoomed while far

Event Date: November 21st

Time: 5:00 PM

Brief

   Here is Mars, about two hours before setting and 17º in altitude.  Being that high, the planet can be seen dimly above housetops and small trees for a limited time, before getting obstructed and too deep in atmospheric pollution.

   The first image shows the planet near the ecliptic, with the evening western sky's geometry now improved compared to its early-September worst.  The second image is a 270x zoom-in of Mars, after having waxed slightly to nearly full status. 

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

Detailed

   Notice also in the first image, since I forgot to de-label Venus, that we know where it is below the horizon!  I usually catch such a goof, yet it will leave it for now, to show a feature of the software!

Getting back to the Red Planet of topic, Mars is about as high in the sky as it was then when it was further separated with the Sun, yet it was much further south of the Sun when we saw the pair in September.  It still is moving further away from us in orbit and therefore, featureless through most telescopes,  When Mars is at opposition, it is normally more than twice the apparent magnitude as when near conjunction, being so many millions of miles closer to us.  When we view it at just about any magnification when nearing conjunction, it is hard to enlarge it, being so much further away.  Once we lose it to the Sun's glare and conjunction, we will have to wait until the middle of next year to see it easily before Sunrise in the morning and even then, it will once again be too far to see any features with a telescope.  Opposition happens in the spring of 2014 and until then, it is a long wait--until late next year--before we have a decent telescopic view of Mars.  Once it is within 2 months of opposition however, it starts to become easier to see the red color with the eye.