Star chart tonight11/1/2022 One interesting aspect is that Mars passes several stars three times – triple conjunctions. On October 30, the arrows start to pivot clockwise or westward until January 2023, when they turn eastward again. When Mars nears the Bull’s horns, the lines are nearly parallel, indicating that the eastward march slows. Beginning August 16, the first date on the chart, the lines appear to turn eastward or counterclockwise on the chart. Lines of sight are drawn from Earth through Mars toward the starfield for specific dates when the Red Planet appears near certain stars. On this annotated chart, the orbits of Earth and Mars are displayed. They would fall into the sun.Ĭhart Caption – 2022, October 30: This chart shows the relative orbits of Earth and Mars. There would be serious gravitational consequences if the planets stopped in their orbital motions. The planets do not suddenly halt their direction and backup. We see them appear against the background of distant stars, normally appearing to move eastward.Īs our planet catches and moves inside the slower-moving outer worlds, they appear to stop and move westward, an illusion. Recently, though, its eastward march has slowed and for several mornings it seems to be in nearly the same place compared to Zeta Tauri – the southern horn.Ī planet’s motion against the sidereal background is a combination of Earth’s and the planet’s orbital motions around the sun. Mars has been steadily moving eastward in front of Taurus for nearly three months. Sky watchers in urban and suburban may need a binocular to see Taurus. During the night it appears higher in the sky and by morning twilight it is high in the west-southwest above the Bull’s horns – Elnath and Zeta Tauri. The planet rises in the east-northeast 2.5 hours after sunset. Mars appears with many bright stars during this season. Chart Caption – 2022, October 30: Mars is above the horns of Taurus before daybreak.Įven with the bright appearance of Jupiter for most of the night, the spectacle of the autumn season this year is the opposition of Mars that occurs on December 7 th.
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