Mars: July - August

Dia. 1 Looking east at midnight (UT) on 12 July 2007.
Dia. 2    Track of Mars from July 12 to August 26 2007.

Mars is becoming a noticeable object in the early morning sky.

On July 12 the planet rises a little north of east at around 23h 45m UT (Dia. 1) and sets at 15 h 20m UT the following day. At visual magnitude 0.6 on the 12th, it is steadily increasing in brightness reaching magnitude 0.3 by August 26. Mars rises at 21h 45m UT on August 26. 

The Moon will be 5.5 degrees above Mars on the 7th August. The Moon itself will pass in front of the Pleiades cluster making a grazing occultation with the brightest star in the group, Alcyone. Further details will be given closer to the event.

The track of Mars over a 40-day period is shown in Dia. 2.

Mars is due to make a spectacular rendezvous with the Moon in the night sky close to Christmas this year. Mars will be within 24 hours of opposition, and the Moon will be close to full, when in the early hours on December 24 it occults Mars as seen from Orkney.

This is an extremely rare juxtaposition of events.

Mars is now an easy object in daylight with telescopes of 80mm aperture and more. It is also high in the sky, in complete contrast to the more brilliant Jupiter (now past opposition and visible for a short time low down in the southern sky an hour before midnight).

JV 10/07/07