This evening Mars will be just a hop and a skip away. A hop and a skip is an astronomical measuring unit meaning 54,783,381 miles. The last few days it's been hard to not notice the big bright little ball with a reddisth tint in the eastern sky just after sunset. It can also be seen before sunrise in the southeast sky. It's so close even with the naked eye you can make out that it has some roundness to it, unlike your average twinkling star.
Read all about it at Space.com.
Comments (2)
I remember a year or two ago when Mars was especially close, I could go out with a good pair of binoculars and barely make out the ice caps (or fool myself into thinking I could, anyway).
Posted by DSK | December 18, 2007 9:51 AM
Thanks for the reminder..we've finally got a clear enough sky to watch!
Posted by poopie | December 18, 2007 1:51 PM