One Night Only: Mars Comes Closest To Earth On Same Night As A Total Lunar Eclipse By: Erin Ruberry Clear your calendar for the night of April 14 as two remarkable space events occur within hours of each other: the opposition of Mars, when the red planet will come within 92 million kilometers of Earth, and a total lunar eclipse. Ninety-two million kilometers (about 57 million miles) may sound like a vast distance -- its more than a six-month flight for NASAs fastest rockets -- but in space terms, thats practically next door. As NASA explains, Astronomers call this event an opposition of Mars because Mars and the Sun are on opposite sides of the sky. Mars rises in the east at sunset, and soars almost overhead at midnight, shining burnt-orange almost 10 times brighter than a 1st magnitude star. April 8 is the actual date of opposition but on April 14, Mars will be even closer to Earth; in fact, as the date draws nearer the distance between Earth and Mars decreases by about 300 kilometers each minute.
Posted on: Fri, 04 Apr 2014 03:05:06 +0000
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