Mars – Astronomy Now

The red planet’s very well placed

18 January 2023 Mark Armstrong

Mars, still relatively fresh from last month’s brilliant opposition, remains the main planetary interest.

Mars comes to opposition and is occulted by the Moon!

5 December 2022 Mark Armstrong

The long-awaited opposition of Mars on 8 December is a great way to put the icing on top of another great observing year.

The layered hills of Mars’ Arabia Terra

8 July 2022 Keith Cooper

These layered hills, seen in this false-colour image of a portion of Arabia Terra on Mars, may possibly have a watery origin.

The long view across Gale crater to the slopes of Mount Sharp

30 June 2022 Keith Cooper

This panorama was taken by the rover’s MastCam – from a ‘clay-bearing unit’ on the flank of Mount Sharp.

Get ready for Jupiter and Mars’ close confrontation

19 May 2022 Mark Armstrong

Keep the diary free towards the end of May to witness another very close conjunction between two of the major planets in the Solar System.

Ingenuity zooms over Mars rover’s discarded parachute and backshell

2 May 2022 Astronomy Now

The Ingenuity Mars helicopter captures intriguing images of the Perseverance rover’s discarded parachute and backshell.

Phobos transits the Sun, captured by Mars Rover

27 April 2022 Mark Armstrong

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover’s Mastcam-Z camera has captured Phobos, the larger of Mars’ two small moons (27 x 22 x 18 kilometres), as it transited the Sun’s disc on 2 April

Rippling sand dunes across the floor of a crater at zero longitude on Mars

24 January 2022 Astronomy Now

Rippling sand dunes across the floor of a martian crater provide an intriguing backdrop for map makers using the depression to identify zero longitude on the red planet.

Mars rover captures sharp view of Jezero Crater in stunning mosaic

21 October 2021 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Perseverance rover provides a razor-sharp mosaic showing its view across the floor of Jezero Crater, including remnants of a delta where water once flowed into a broad lake that may have provided a habitable environment for microbial life.

Study suggests Mars too small for long-term habitability

22 September 2021 Astronomy Now

Researchers find a correlation between a rocky planet’s size and its ability to retain enough water for habitability.