the martian opposition of 2014

welcome stargazers I'm James all very
director the key cassava pop planetarium

in Gainesville Florida

and then Miley Hidalgo thanks teacher
from Miami Florida

and I'm demery guess astronomer from the
Cincinnati Observatory

we get to celebrate something really
special next week

that's right team the red planet Mars
will be a opposition

and when Mars is that opposition its
closest to us

and at its biggest and brightest when
objects are closer in brighter

this makes a much better for viewing so
let's talk about the upcoming opposition

at mars

and why some oppositions are better than
others let's show you

Mars is fascinated astronomers for
centuries

even the sky watchers on the antiquity
were mesmerized by the peculiar movement

brightness

and color changes of mars every twenty
six months or so

mars goes from a pale orange yellow to a
bright or just read

mars got its name because it's Brett
Cullen reminded the ancient Romans a

blood war and violence so they named
after their got a poor

the ancient Greeks gave the Red Planet
the name pair ease

the name the Greek god of war: and the
Babylonians name that never call

after their gotta pestilence and death
so

every twenty six months the break you
know mars reminded people love the

celestial connection with their God of
War

and they came to expect the unleashing a
war revolutions disaster and debt

even the symbol for Mars is the stylized
Roman sword and shield

but what if Mars change color size and
brightness

every twenty six months

if we view our solar system from high
above the Sun

we can see the orbit support earth and
Mars it takes a little more than 365

days to orbit the Sun

while Mars takes almost 687 days when my
sister

alright their closest to each other
Mars's at to be at opposition

when a plan is that opposition it's
exactly on the

opposite side at the sky from the Sun
the tricky part about martian

oppositions

is that sometimes Mars is much closer at
some oppositions then

others for example the martian
oppositional August 2003 was one of the

closest ones

ever work Earth and Mars were only 30
4.6 million miles apart

compare that to the opposition March

when Mars is a whopping 62.6 million
miles from Earth

the reason the mars is distance very so
much is because in the shape of Mars is

art

Johannes Kepler demonstrated that
planetary orbits are not perfect circles

but a shape called inlets Mars orbit is
more logical than Earth's

so there are times when Mars is much
closer to the Sun than others

when a planet is at its closest to the
Sun

we call that Perry Helion the perihelion
point for Mars lies in the constellation

Aquarius

the point when a plan is far this from
the Sun is called at helium

and from mars that point is in Leo the
Lion perihelion actually in our

opposite sides in the planet's orbit and
as a result or on

opposite sides the sky cell if you look
at the zodiac

what constellation is on the opposite
side of the sky from Leo the Lion

to its Aquarius cell if the Sun is a Leo

and Mars in Aquarius you get a close and
bright opposition

but switch around and if the Sun is an
Aquarius

and Mars in Leo you get a distant and
think opposition during the martian

opposition

1956 Mars was extremely close and bright

this happened in September when the Sun
was unreal and Marshalls an Aquarius

the opposition 1877 when fogelson day
most were discovered

also happened in September and again
marshals in aquaria

on the other hand the martian opposition
ups 1997

wasn't very impressive happen in March
when the Sun was an Aquarius

and Mars in Leo same thing happen in
March 2012

things are getting better though next
week on April 8

Mars will be in Virgo and the Sun will
be in Pisces they're both one

consolation over so

it's not quite as bad each time we go
around the opposition's will get better

and better

then in late July 2018 will get the best
view

mars we've had since 2003 so check out
march right after sunset next week as

you

keep looking up

yes me