Our neighboring planet Mars comes relatively close to Earth in October 2020. On Oct. 6th 2020 the planet reaches the closest position and its distance to Earth is only 61 million km. From September to November the red planet appears brighter than Jupiter and can be found in the evening sky east of Jupiter. At the day of opposition Mars rises when the Sun sets and sets when the Sun rises. Mars is a very interesting object of research and the Astrophysics section of the Institute of Physics is involved e.g. in the research of space weather effects on the Martian surface; this project will be done through a Master Thesis (supervisor Arnold Hanslmeier). The solar activity has a stronger influence on the surface of Mars because Mars has a very thin atmosphere and no permanent magnetic field.
Wednesday, 16 September 2020
The red planet close
Mars at its best. Image taken with 8m focal length SCT 30 cm, my private observatory in Pretal/Kapfenstein. One can even recognize the tharsis Region with volcanoes (Olympus Mons). © Arnold Hanslmeier, 19 oct 2020
Das Bild zeigte eine aktuelle Aufnahme des Mars am 13. Sep. 2020; dabei wurden 1000 Einzelaufnahmen summiert. Die weiße Nordpolkappe ist gut erkennbar. Foto: Arnold Hanslmeier, Privatsternwarte
Mars Sep 15, 2020, both images are separated by 1 h 15 min. Surface features are shifted because of the rotation of the planet. (c) Arnold Hanslmeier, Private Observatory
Mars Sep 15, 2020, images 2 (c) Arnold Hanslmeier, Private Observatory