Mars 2005

Mars will come into its Opposition on November 7, 2005 in constellation Aries. A week earlier, on October 30, 2005, the planet will have come to its closes distance to Earth this year: 69.42 million km (43 million miles, or 0.46406 AU). This approach offers another opportunity to launch spacecraft to the red planet: Nasa is sending the 2005 Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. This mission will compliment the still active spacecraft at Mars: Nasa's Mars Global Surveyor (since 1996), 2001 Mars Odyssey (since 2001), and the two Mars Exploration Rovers (MER), Spirit and Opportunity (since 2003), as well as ESA's Mars Express (since 2003).

The planet will be situated at a northern declination of +15 at opposition time so that Northern hemisphere observers found it comparatively high in the southern horizon, and Southerners will find it quite low in the North. The planet will become as bright as mag -2.3 and of diameter 20.19 arc seconds around that time. While this is not as bright and large as in the previous, Mars 2003 apparition, it will take until 2016 that Mars will come close, and to 2018 until it will surpass the show of this year in closeness, brightness, and diameter.

During the months around opposition time, Mars will have Northern winter and Southern summer. This means that from Earth, mainly the Southern hemisphere and the Southern polar cap can be observed.

Chronology of the 2005 Mars Apparition

Sep 15, 2004
Mars in conjunction with the Sun from Earth, in Leo near the border to Virgo. Earth in superior conjunction with the Sun from Mars. Distance about 400 million km (2.67 AU) at this aphelic conjunction; the planet's apparent diameter is only 3.52" and its brightness +1.72 mag. From Mars, this is seen as a superior conjunction of Earth with the Sun. This conjunction, which also ends the great 2003 apparition of Mars, starts the planet's 2005 apparition.
Earth at northernmost declination from Mars (+26.0d); we look on the Northern Hemisphere of Mars.
Sep 16, 2004
Mars leaves constellation Leo and enters Virgo.
Sep 20, 2004
Northern Summer, Southern Winter Solstice on Mars.
Oct 13, 2004
Moon occults Mars (09:22 UT)
Nov 11, 2004
Moon occults Mars (03:59 UT)
Nov 16, 2004
Mars comes closer than 2.5 AU.
Nov 22, 2004
Mars leaves constellation Virgo and enters Libra.
Dec 31, 2005
Mars leaves constellation Libra and enters Scorpius.
Jan 1, 2005
Mars is seen in the morning sky in constellation Scorpius, still close to the border of Libra, at a distance of 332 million km (2.221 AU), mag +1.1 and diameter 4.2".
Jan 5, 2005
Mars leaves constellation Scorpius and enters Ophiuchus.
Jan 7, 2005
Mars passes 5deg north of Antares.
Jan 15, 2005
Mars passes the descending node of its orbit, moving to the south of the ecliptic, thus getting southern ecliptic latitudes.
Apparent brightness of Mars exceeds +1.5 mag.
Jan 28, 2005
Earth crosses the Celestial Equator of Mars from North to South; we look on Martian Equator.
Feb 2, 2005
Mars leaves constellation Ophiuchus and enters Sagittarius.
Feb 5, 2005
Mars comes closer than 2.0 AU
Feb 23, 2005
Apparent diameter of Mars exceeds 5".
Mar 20, 2005
Mars leaves constellation Sagittarius and enters Capricornus.
Mar 22, 2005
Northern Autumn, Southern Spring Equinox on Mars
Mar 23, 2005
Mars' apparent brightness exceeds +1.0 mag.
Apr 14, 2005
Mars comes closer than 1.5 AU.
Apr 27, 2005
Mars leaves constellation Capricornus and enters Aquarius.
May 13, 2005
Mars' apparent brightness exceeds +0.5 mag.
May 29, 2005
Earth at maximum Southern declination from Mars (-24.9d); wee look on the Southern Hemisphere of Mars.
May 31, 2005
Moon occults Mars (09:44 UT)
Jun 7, 2005
Mars leaves constellation Aquarius and enters Pisces.
Jun 20, 2005
Mars at southernmost heliocentric ecliptical latitude (1.85 deg).
Jun 21, 2005
Mars leaves constellation Pisces and enters Cetus. It is going to change between these two constellations several times for the next few weeks.
Jun 27, 2005
Mars' apparent brightness exceeds 0.0 mag.
Jun 30, 2005
Mars leaves constellation Cetus and enters Pisces.
Jul 1, 2005
Mars comes closer than 1.0 AU.
Jul 12, 2005
From Mars, Earth is at its greatest Eastern elongation from the Sun at about 43 deg. From Earth, Mars phase is minimal, angle is 43 deg. Only 84 percent of the visible Mars hemisphere is illuminated.
Jul 13, 2005
Apparent diameter of Mars exceeds 10".
Jul 17, 2005
Mars in Perihelion (207 million km, 1.38 AU from the Sun)
Aug 2, 2005
Mars leaves constellation Pisces and enters Cetus.
Mars' apparent brightness exceeds -0.5 mag.
Aug 5, 2005
Mars leaves constellation Cetus and enters Aries. It will come to opposition in this constellation in about three months.
Aug 12, 2005
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft launched to Mars
Aug 16, 2005
Northern Winter, Southern Summer Solstice on Mars.
Aug 31, 2005
Mars' apparent brightness exceeds -1.0 mag.
Sep 8, 2005
Apparent diameter of Mars exceeds 15".
Sep 23, 2005
Mars leaves constellation Aries and enters Taurus (just for a frew days).
Sep 24, 2005
Mars' apparent brightness exceeds -1.5 mag.
Oct 1, 2005
Mars becomes stationary and then starts its retrograde opposition loop, as Earth passes between the Red Planet and the Sun.
Oct 8, 2005
Mars comes closer than 0.5 AU.
Oct 9, 2005
Mars leaves constellation Taurus in retrograde motion and enters Aries where it will come into opposition next month.
Oct 15, 2005
Mars' apparent brightness exceeds -2.0 mag.
Oct 23, 2005
Apparent diameter of Mars exceeds 20".
Oct 30, 2005
Closest approach of Mars and Earth (0.464 AU = 69.42 million km). Apparent diameter of Mars is 20.19".
Nov 6, 2005
Apparent diameter of Mars decreases below 20".
Nov 7, 2005
Mars opposition on Earth, Earth in inferior conjunction on Mars. Apparent brightness of Mars reaches -2.33 mag in constellation Aries.
Nov 15, 2005
Mars passes the ascending node of its orbit, moving to the north of the ecliptic, thus getting northern ecliptic latitudes.
Nov 19, 2005
Mars' apparent brightness becomes fainter than -2.0 mag.
Mars moves beyond 0.5 AU distance.
Dec 4, 2005
Mars' apparent brightness becomes fainter than -1.5 mag.
Dec 10, 2005
Mars becomes stationary to end its retrograde opposition loop as the Earth has passed it on its inner orbit, and proceeds in prograde apparent motion.
Dec 12, 2005
Apparent diameter of Mars decreases below 15".
Dec 12, 2005
Moon occults Mars (04:24 UT)
Dec 19, 2005
Mars' apparent brightness becomes fainter than -1.0 mag.
Jan 1, 2006
Mars is seen prominently in the evening sky in constellation Aries, at a distance of 116 million km (0.78 AU), mag -0.6 and 12.1" diameter.
Jan 4, 2006
Mars' apparent brightness becomes fainter than -0.5 mag.
Jan 18, 2006
Apparent diameter of Mars decreases below 10".
Jan 21, 2006
Northern Spring, Southern Autumn Equinox on Mars.
Jan 23, 2006
Mars' apparent brightness becomes fainter than 0.0 mag.
Jan 25, 2005
Mars moves beyond 1.0 AU distance.
Feb 7, 2006
Mars leaves constellation Aries and enters Taurus.
Feb 15, 2006
Mars' apparent brightness becomes fainter than +0.5 mag.
Feb 17, 2006
Mars passes the Pleiades (M45) at 2.5 deg South.
Mar 10, 2006
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft arrives at Mars and to enter Mars orbit.
Mar 17, 2006
Mars' apparent brightness becomes fainter than +1.0 mag.
Mars moves beyond 1.5 AU distance.
Apr 14, 2006
Mars leaves constellation Taurus and enters Gemini.
Apr 25, 2006
Apparent diameter of Mars decreases below 5".
Apr 26, 2006
Earth crosses the Celestial Equator of Mars from south to north; we look on the Equator of Mars.
May 1, 2006
Mars' apparent brightness becomes fainter than +1.5 mag.
May 10, 2006
Mars moves beyond 2.0 AU distance.
May 31, 2006
Mars leaves constellation Gemini and enters Cancer.
Jun 26, 2006
Mars in its Aphelion (249 million km or 1.66603 AU from the Sun).
Jul 2, 2006
Mars leaves constellation Cancer and enters Leo.
Jul 27, 2006
Moon occults Mars (18:00 UT)
Aug 1, 2006
Mars moves beyond 2.5 AU distance.
Aug 8, 2006
Northern Summer, Southern Winter Solstice on Mars.
Aug 25, 2006
Moon occults Mars (13:07 UT)
Aug 29, 2006
Mars leaves constellation Leo and enters Virgo.
Aug 30, 2006
Earth at its maximum Northern declination from Mars (+26.15d); we look on the Northern hemisphere of Mars.
Oct 1, 2006
Mars at its greatest distance from Earth: 390 million km (2.607 AU). Mars' apparent disk measures now only 3.6" in diameter.
Oct 23, 2006
Mars in conjunction with the Sun from Earth, in Virgo. Earth in superior conjunction with the Sun as seen from Mars. Distance 388 million km (2.594 AU), apparent diameter 3.6", brightness +1.57 mag. This conjunction ends the 2005 apparition of Mars. It also starts the 2007 apparition of Mars.

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Last Modification: May 28, 2008