Mars within reach, but very close

2003/08/27 Elhuyar Zientzia

• Astronomia

Today is the day: We have seen Mars and it has appeared to us the greatest. In fact, it is 57 thousand years when the red planet was not so close to Earth and in another 284 years it will not be closer than there is today.

Those in the equator will see the red glow emitted by Mars, but it can also be seen from Euskal Herria; at dusk you only have to look south. Actually, Mars is always one of the five brightest stars, along with the Sun, Moon, Venus and Jupiter. But you have the most money you can have right now.

Every two years approximately, Mars and Earth come very close when they align with the Sun, near the perihelion. Perihelion is the closest point to the Sun in the orbit of a planet.

In fact, these days Mars and Earth are very close to the perihelion and therefore about 55.758.006 kilometers. Space agencies have not wanted to miss the opportunity for a shorter trip to Mars, so Europeans, Americans and Japanese have launched this year their spacecraft to Mars. The red planet is fascinated by astrophysicists and, of course, fans of astronomy.