Mars 2024/25
During this apparition, Mars will come into
Opposition on January 16, 2025 in the constellation Gemini, near the
border to Cancer. The planet will reach an apparent brightness on that day
of -1.38 mag, comparatively faint for an opposition of Mars.
The closest approach to Earth during this apparition will be already 4 days
earlier on January 12, 2025 (when Mars is still in Cancer) when it comes to a
modarately close at 60.0 million miles (96.06 million km = 0.64228 AU).
This distance is rather large for an opposition of Mars, as it occurs when the
Red Planet is already considerably close to its aphelion which it will pass on
April 16, 2025. During opposition, Earth will appear about 10 deg North of the
Celestial Equator of Mars, so the planets's limb will have a central latitude
of about 10 deg North; observers from Earth will have considerable view of
the North Polar Cap (NPC).
Of the several space missions are under construction with intend to utilize
this apparition for launch opportunity, only one is still on schedule:
Nasa intends to launch its EscaPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and
Dynamics Explorers), consisting of two orbiter spacecraft ("Blue" and "Gold"),
in Spring, 2025. It had originally been planned for launch in August, then
October 2024.
Also under way are two spacecraft that will flyby Mars en route to other
targets, for gravity assist:
Nasa's Europa Clipper is scheduled to flyby Mars on March 1, 2025,
while ESA's Hera should also flyby the planet in March, 2025.
Chronology of the 2024/25 Mars Apparition
- Nov 18, 2023
- Mars in conjunction with the Sun from Earth, in Libra.
Earth in superior conjunction with the Sun as seen from Mars.
Distance 378 million km (2.5261 AU), apparent diameter 3.706",
brightness +1.43 mag.
This conjunction, which also ends the 2022
apparition of Mars, starts the 2025 apparition of Mars.
- Nov 25, 2023
- Mars leaves constellation Libra and enters Scorpius
- Dec 5, 2023
- Mars leaves constellation Scorpius and enters Ophiuchus
- Dec 31, 2023
- Mars leaves constellation Ophiuchus and enters Sagittarius
- Jan 1, 2024
- Mars is seen in the constellation Sagittarius at a distance of 2.42 AU
(363 million km) at +1.39 mag apparent brightness and 3.86" apparent diameter.
- Jan 13, 2024
- Northern Autumn, Southern Spring Equinox on Mars.
- Feb 12, 2024
- Mars leaves constellation Sagittarius and enters Capricornus
- Mar 19, 2024
- Mars leaves constellation Capricornus and enters Aquarius
- Apr 12, 2024
- Mars reaches its greatest southern heliocentric latitude (-1.8479 deg)
- Apr 24, 2024
- Mars leaves constellation Aquarius and enters Pisces
- May 5, 2024
- Moon occults Mars.
- May 7, 2024
- Mars in Perihelion (1.38151 AU = 206.6 million km)
- May 9, 2024
- Mars leaves constellation Pisces and enters Cetus
- May 13, 2024
- Mars leaves constellation Cetus and re-enters Pisces
- May 28, 2024
- Apparent diameter of Mars exceeds 5".
- Jun 8, 2024
- Northern Winter, Southern Summer Solstice on Mars.
- Jun 10, 2024
- Mars eaves constellation Pisces and enters Aries
- Jun 24, 2024
- Apparent brightness of Mars exceeds +1.0 mag
- Jul 11, 2024
- Mars leaves constellation Aries and enters Taurus
- Sep 5, 2024
- Mars leaves constellation Taurus and enters Gemini
- Sep 6, 2024
- Mars passes the ascending node of its orbit, moving to the north of
Earth's orbital plane, the ecliptic, and getting northern ecliptic
latitudes.
- Sep 26, 2024
- From Mars, Earth is at its greatest Eastern elongation from the Sun at
about 41.47d. Only 87.46 percent of the visible Mars hemisphere is
illuminated.
- Oct 1, 2024
- Apparent brightness of Mars exceeds +0.5 mag
- Oct 14, 2024
- Western Quadrature - Mars 90 deg West of Sun.
- Oct 29, 2014
- Mars leaves constellation Gemini and enters Cancer
- Nov 6, 2024
- Apparent brightness of Mars exceeds 0.0 mag
- Nov 12, 2024
- Apparent diameter of Mars exceeds 10".
- Nov 13, 2024
- Northern Spring, Southern Autumn Equinox on Mars.
- Dec 1, 2024
- Apparent brightness of Mars exceeds -0.5 mag
- Dec 6, 2024
- Retrogression begins: Mars becomes stationary and starts its retrograde
opposition loop, as Earth passes between the Red Planet and the Sun.
- Dec 18, 2024
- Moon occults Mars.
- Dec 23, 2024
- Apparent brightness of Mars exceeds -1.0 mag
- Jan 1, 2025
- Mars is seen in the constellation Cancer at a distance of 0.66 AU
(98.2 million km) at -1.19 mag apparent brightness and 12.8" apparent
diameter.
- Jan 12, 2025
- Closest Approach of Mars and Earth (0.64228 AU = 96.06 million km).
Apparent diameter of Mars is 14.57".
- Jan 13, 2025
- Mars leaves constellation Cancer and re-enters Gemini, during retograde
motion in opposition loop.
- Jan 14, 2025
- Moon occults Mars.
- Jan 16, 2025
- Mars Opposition on Earth, Earth inferior conjunction on Mars.
Apparent brightness of Mars reaches -1.38 mag in constellation Gemini.
- Feb 3, 2025
- Apparent brightness of Mars becomes fainter than -1.0 mag.
- Feb 9, 2025
- Moon occults Mars.
- Feb 21, 2025
- Apparent brightness of Mars becomes fainter than -0.5 mag.
- Feb 24, 2025
- Retrogression ends: 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.
- Mar 1, 2025
- Europa Clipper to flyby Mars for gravity assist en route to Jupiter
and Europa.
- Mar, 2025
- Hera to flyby Mars for gravity assist en route to (65803) Didymos.
- Mar 9, 2025
- Apparent diameter of Mars decreases below 10".
- Mar 10, 2025
- Mars reaches its greatest northern heliocentric latitude (+1.8476 deg)
- Mar 12, 2025
- Apparent brightness of Mars becomes fainter than 0.0 mag.
- Spring, 2025
- EscaPADE launch secheduled
- Apr 4, 2025
- Apparent brightness of Mars becomes fainter than +0.5 mag.
- Apr 12, 2025
- Mars leaves constellation Gemini and enters Cancer
- Apr 16, 2025
- Mars in Aphelion (1.66606 AU = 249.2 million km)
- Apr 21, 2025
- Eastern Quadrature - Mars 90 deg East of Sun
- Apr 25, 2025
- From Mars, Earth is at its greatest Western elongation from the Sun at
about 37.12d. Only 89.87 percent of the visible Mars hemisphere is
illuminated.
- May 4, 2025
- Apparent brightness of Mars becomes fainter than +1.0 mag.
- May 26, 2025
- Mars leaves constellation Cancer and enters Leo
- May 30, 2025
- Northern Summer, Southern Winter Solstice on Mars.
- Jun 23, 2025
- Apparent diameter of Mars decreases below 5".
- Jun 30, 2025
- Moon occults Mars.
- Jul 3, 2025
- Apparent brightness of Mars becomes fainter than +1.5 mag.
- Jul 28, 2025
- Moon occults Mars.
- Mars leaves constellation Leo and enters Virgo
- Aug 24, 2025
- Mars at its least brightness (+1.61 mag)
- Sep 23, 2025
- Mars passes the descending node of its orbit, moving to the south of
Earth's orbital plane, the ecliptic, and getting southern ecliptic
latitudes.
- Oct 4, 2025
- Mars leaves constellation Virgo and enters Libra
- Oct 23, 2025
- Apparent brightness of Mars exceeds +1.5 mag
- Nov 3, 2025
- Mars leaves constellation Libra and enters Scorpius
- Nov 15, 2025
- Mars leaves constellation Scorpius and enters Ophiuchus
- Nov 30, 2025
- Northern Autumn, Southern Spring Equinox on Mars.
- Mars at its greatest distance from Earth at 2.424 AU (363 million km), shows least apparent diameter of 3.864".
- Dec 10, 2025
- Mars leaves constellation Ophiuchus and enters Sagittarius
- Jan 1, 2026
- Mars is invisible and close to the Sun in the constellation Sagittarius at a distance of 2.41 AU (361 million km) at +1.19 mag apparent brightness and 3.87" apparent diameter.
- Jan 9, 2026
- Mars in conjunction with the Sun from Earth, in Sagittarius.
Earth in superior conjunction with the Sun as seen from Mars.
Distance 360 million km (2.4038 AU), apparent diameter 3.897",
brightness +1.16 mag.
This conjunction ends the 2025 apparition of Mars.
It also starts the 2027 apparition of Mars.
Links
Mars Oppositions |
< 2022 |
2027 >
Hartmut Frommert
[contact]
![[Mars] |](../Jco/mars.ico.jpg)
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![[SEDS]](../Jco/seds.jpg)
Last Modification: December 3, 2024
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