The image below shows Mars before it reaches opposition (which occurs on April 8th) and nearing its closest approach (which occurs on April 14th). This occurs roughly every 26 months. This image was taken using a high-speed digital camera and 16-inch diameter telescope located in Assis, Brazil. Mars is located in the constellation Virgo, opposite the Sun. It is unique in it's reddish color and can be found next to the faint Asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres. Mars rises in the east at sunset and can be found directly overhead by midnight shining almost 10 times brighter than a first magnitude star. Mars' north polar cap is visible in this image at the top left. The image also reveals whitish orographic clouds (large dense clouds that form over mountainous regions and remain over the tops of mountains; formed when moist air rises and reaches colder upper altitudes causing condensation). The 'mountains' over which these clouds rest is actually the largest volcano in the solar system (three times higher than Everest and fifty times the volume of Earth's largest volcano) named Olympus Mons.
No comments:
Post a Comment