Mars Gets Close

Mars and Earth are snuggling close this month -- relatively speaking, at least. Tomorrow, we’ll make our closest pass by Mars for several years -- a little less than 55 million miles. As a result, the planet shines bright this month. It looks like a brilliant orange star near the feet of Gemini, the twins.

The distance to Mars right now is much less than average because Earth is passing by the planet in our smaller, closer orbit around the Sun.

But the distance from one close approach to another varies by a good bit. A few years ago, the two planets made their closest approach in many centuries -- about 35 million miles. But the next time we get together -- in the year 2010 -- the distance will be more than 60 million miles.

The main reason for the difference is that Mars’s orbit around the Sun is pretty stretched out -- there’s a pronounced difference between its closest point to the Sun and its farthest point. This year, we’re passing Mars fairly near its farthest from the Sun, and near Earth’s closest point.

Even so, Mars is putting on a great show. It’s the third-brightest object in the night sky right now, after the Moon and the planet Venus, the brilliant “morning star.” It’s quite low in the east as the color of twilight drains away, but it climbs high across the sky during the night, and stands almost directly overhead around midnight -- 55 million miles straight up.



Script by Damond Benningfield, Copyright 2007
(From NPR's Stardate broadcast on Dec. 17, 2007)

What would the astrologer tell me about this astronomical occurrence? Whatever it is I'm glad it's happening. It's about time Mars paid me some attention--even if he needs help from my parents.