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do

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the martian opposition of 2014

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

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in Gainesville Florida

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and then Miley Hidalgo thanks teacher
 
from Miami Florida

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and I'm demery guess astronomer from the
 
Cincinnati Observatory

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we get to celebrate something really
 
special next week

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

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and when Mars is that opposition its
 
closest to us

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

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

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at mars

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

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Mars is fascinated astronomers for
 
centuries

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

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brightness

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and color changes of mars every twenty
 
six months or so

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

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

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

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the ancient Greeks gave the Red Planet
 
the name pair ease

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

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after their gotta pestilence and death
 
so

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

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celestial connection with their God of
 
War

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

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

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but what if Mars change color size and
 
brightness

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every twenty six months

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if we view our solar system from high
 
above the Sun

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

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days to orbit the Sun

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while Mars takes almost 687 days when my
 
sister

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

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

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

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oppositions

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is that sometimes Mars is much closer at
 
some oppositions then

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

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closest ones

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

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compare that to the opposition March

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when Mars is a whopping 62.6 million
 
miles from Earth

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

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art

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Johannes Kepler demonstrated that
 
planetary orbits are not perfect circles

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

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

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when a planet is at its closest to the
 
Sun

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

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Aquarius

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

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

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

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opposite sides the sky cell if you look
 
at the zodiac

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

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to its Aquarius cell if the Sun is a Leo

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and Mars in Aquarius you get a close and
 
bright opposition

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but switch around and if the Sun is an
 
Aquarius

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

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opposition

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1956 Mars was extremely close and bright

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

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the opposition 1877 when fogelson day
 
most were discovered

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also happened in September and again
 
marshals in aquaria

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on the other hand the martian opposition
 
ups 1997

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

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and Mars in Leo same thing happen in
 
March 2012

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things are getting better though next
 
week on April 8

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

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consolation over so

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

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and better

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then in late July 2018 will get the best
 
view

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

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you

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keep looking up

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yes me

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T