Mars' local path's "trough"

Event Date: December 23rd

Time: 5:00 PM

Brief

   Mars' apparition in the southeast continues to slightly improve each evening, although it is slowly coming closer to the Sun in separation.  The geometry of the sky, coupled with Mars' prograde motion has meant that it has moved a little further north each day, slightly faster than the Sun.  

   Although I had planned to show Mars local path on monthly intervals, starting awhile back, I am cutting into that interval by about a couple of weeks, to show the shape that the path makes.  Take a look below.

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

Detailed

As shown towards the middle of the path, between December 6th and 9th, Mars was precisely the same altitude at the same time each day.  Since then, as mentioned in the brief, the planet is slightly higher at this time each day.  This is slightly because of the geometry improving in this part of the sky.  However, as mentioned yesterday, the earliest Sunset happened a day before this span of days.  Therefore, despite the trough of markers above (where it "bottoms-out", so to speak), Mars was getting slightly closer to the Sun in separation.  As the Sun starts setting later by more seconds each day, Mars path has it slope up as well, benefitting from being a little more north than the Sun.  Near the time of conjunction in the early spring, the path will slope up less and less, eventually meeting the Sun with the planet going behind it and staying in its glare, for several weeks.  Look for Mars with optical aid as a dim "star" by mid-late Summertime, with the eye alone by fall, and a little more easily by early winter, when it is just a few months away from its next opposition.  Is that looking ahead enough?? :-)