Chinanews.com, Nanjing, August 31 (Yang Yanci) According to news from the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on the 31st, in the coming September, the sparkling "red star" in the sky-Mars will rise "earlier" and increase its brightness. Usher in the best observation season. At the same time, Mars will usher in a two-month "retrograde", bringing a relatively "stationary" excellent viewing window.
On Earth, Mars is visible to the naked eye, with a maximum brightness of -2.9 mag. Among the eight planets, it is darker than Jupiter and Venus. However, because the surface of Mars is covered by hematite (iron oxide), its "reddish" appearance is also easier to distinguish in the night sky.
According to experts from the Purple Mountain Observatory, starting from September, Mars will rise to around 20 o'clock in the evening, the brightness has further increased, and the observation conditions are getting better and better.
On September 6th, Tianyu night sky will stage a wonderful celestial phenomenon of "Mars and Moon". Before midnight, two bright celestial bodies will rise together at an angular distance of only about 4°. At this time, Mars, which is close to -2 brightness, is very eye-catching.
That night, red sparks will look affectionately with the bright moon in the sky, performing a scene of "Xingyue Fairy Tale". In addition, in some areas, you can also watch the celestial phenomenon that the moon occludes Mars (that is, Mars cuts in from one side of the moon, and then drills out from the other side, as if passing through the moon).
Astronomers reminded that both Mars and the moon are visible to the naked eye. However, if astronomy "enthusiasts" want to see this celestial phenomenon completely and clearly, they still need to "beautify the sky" and choose an open place. With the help of an astronomical telescope, they can see the process of Mars and the moon slowly converging.
In addition, from September 10th to November 16th, Mars changed from "forward" to "retrograde". At this time, Mars visually seemed to be motionless relative to the background starry sky. This moment of the planet is also called "stay". . Specifically, Mars will travel from 28°09' to 15°15'.
What are "anterograde" and "retrograde"? Astronomers explained that from the perspective of the North Yellow Pole overlooking the solar system, all eight planets in the solar system revolve counterclockwise around the sun. From the perspective of the earth, this kind of motion appears as a planet moving from west to east relative to the star background, which is called "anterograde".
At the same time, because the earth itself revolves around the sun, and the speed is faster than the extraterrestrial planets. When the earth "surpasses" a certain extraterrestrial planet before and after its revolution, from the earth, this extraterrestrial planet is moving from east to west relative to the star background, so it is called "retrograde". The turning point between "anterograde" and "retrograde" is called "stay".
Generally speaking, Mars is brighter overall during the "retrograde" period, which is very suitable for observation. (Finish)