Mars approached the Earth: Ukrainians can see a rare space phenomenon

17 January 00:15

The red planet Mars has reached its maximum brightness, as well as the point of closest merger with the Earth. This is reported by The Guardian, Komersant ukrainskyi informs

Mars is now at its perigee, which is its closest point to the Earth in the cycle of orbits. As of today, Pluto is 96,560,640 km away from the planet, which ensures maximum visibility of its beauty.

Due to Mars’ elliptical orbit, its distance from our planet can vary by tens of millions of kilometers. And although astronomers do not consider this year’s perigee to be too spectacular, observers will still be able to see fascinating footage.

on January 16, Mars reached opposition, when the planet is directly opposite the Sun in the sky. This means that when facing the Sun, Mars reflects the maximum amount of light, and thus will appear brighter.

The red planet will come to a minimum distance from the Earth and will remain visible until dawn.

And this is just the beginning – in February, we will see a rare parade of seven planets, which will be repeated only a few centuries later, in 2492. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune will appear in the sky at the same time, forming a spectacular line known as the planetary alignment.

On the night of January 21, four planets will be visible in the sky, following an imaginary line. Venus and Saturn will be visually very close, and can be seen in the southwest of the sky in the early evening, with Jupiter high in the sky and Mars in the east.

Mars is the only planet that will actually be opposite the Sun in relation to Earth, forming a straight line, a phenomenon that occurs every two years.

Uranus and Neptune will also be aligned, but you will need a telescope to identify them.

on February 28, the seventh planet Mercury will appear in the sky at the same time.

This grand celestial show will be a real gift for everyone interested in the mysteries of the Universe. Only Uranus and Neptune will be visible through binoculars, the rest – without. It seems that these planets are standing in a row. This is because all the planets of the Solar System orbit the Sun in an ecliptic pattern. Some of the planets have orbits slightly above or below the ecliptic, but they are all more or less at the same level.

Дзвенислава Карплюк
Editor