Unique Facts About The Planet Mars, Which Began To Appear In The Earth's Night Sky

Planet Mars (doc. NASA)

JAKARTA - The position of the planet Mars is in its closest distance to Earth. As a result, this red planet will appear more clearly when seen at night.

According to a report by the American space agency NASA, the planet will be visible at night throughout October with the highest altitude in the sky around midnight. That's because the Red Planet is making its closest approach to Earth at 10:18 am Eastern Time (ET) October 6.

Events like this are very rare, even astronomers predict the phenomenon of Mars in its closest distance to Earth will occur again in 15 years later around September 2035. Previously, Mars in 2003 also made the closest approach to Earth in 60,000 years, coming within 34, 65 million miles.

"October is the right time to see Mars, because the planet is visible all night now, and reaches its highest point in the sky around midnight," NASA said as quoted by Space, Thursday, October 8.

In fact, this Mars opposition occurs due to the movement of Earth and Mars around the Sun in their respective orbits. Where, Earth takes 1 year (365 days) to complete one orbit.

As you enjoy Mars glowing in the eastern sky this evening, just remember that bright, red dot is actually an active world. The HiRISE camera aboard our Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has even caught avalanches in progress! More: https://t.co/Er7dUDDa00 pic.twitter.com/XaTeYo6YS7

- NASA Mars (@NASAMars) October 6, 2020

Meanwhile, Mars takes 1.88 years (678 days) to undergo a one-turn orbit. Thus, once every 390 days, there are three celestial bodies this time, namely the Sun, Earth and Mars, which will be in a straight 2-dimensional line.

"If Earth and Mars circle the Sun in a perfect circle, and on exactly the same plane, the distance between Earth and Mars will always be the smallest on the day of the opposition Mars. But we don't live in such a symmetrical universe," said Earthsky.org.

The peak of Mars' closest distance to Earth will occur on October 14, 2020, at 06.20 WIB. At this closest distance, Mars will appear to be 1/100 the visible-size of the Full Moon.

Are you ready for the close approach of Mars tonight (October 6)? @NASA has some extra science for you about why this night is so special for both stargazers and space missions! https://t.co/TVQQ6ewtNf pic.twitter.com/0hhBURJtzH

- Night Sky Network (@nightskynetwork) October 6, 2020

The planet Mars itself has a diameter of 6,790 km with a volume of 15 percent compared to the volume of Earth. The surface temperature on the Planet Mars reaches -70 ° to + 30 ° Celsius.

If, Earth's natural satellite is only one month, Mars has two satellites, namely Phobos and Deimos. The most recognizable feature of this planet is the red-orange color that can be seen from Earth.

This uniqueness is what makes many space agencies such as NASA and other countries want to explore the red planet. NASA itself is preparing to launch a new spacecraft to explore Mars in February 2021. Previously, the United Arab Emirates' Hope and China's Tianwen-1 satellites had already launched to explore Mars.