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Close-up of the Mars at its opposition

Wed 14 Oct 2020    
EcoBalance
| < 1 min read

Astronomy enthusiasts got a chance on 13th October 2020, to have a detailed view of Mars on its opposition with Earth. (Photo Credit – Prabhu S Kutti)

Mars comes closest to Earth, a distance of 62 million km, on 13 October, when it reaches opposition.

What is Mars Opposition?

A specific alignment in the solar system where Earth will be directly between Mars and the sun. Mars Opposition happens about every two years, but this year is particularly noteworthy because it’s the closest the red planet can get to Earth.

Like all the planets in our solar system, Earth and Mars orbit the sun. But Earth is closer to the sun and therefore races along its orbit more quickly. Earth makes two trips around the sun in about the same amount of time that Mars takes to make one trip. So sometimes the two planets are on opposite sides of the sun, very far apart, and other times, Earth catches up with its neighbor and passes relatively close to it. Of course, nothing about motion in space is quite that simple! Our orbits are actually elliptical (oval-shaped), and we travel a little closer to the sun at one end of our orbits than at the other end.

When Can Opposition Occur?

Mars oppositions happen about every 26 months. Every 15 or 17 years, opposition occurs within a few weeks of Mars’ perihelion (the point in its orbit when it is closest to the sun). This year, Mars opposition occurred on Oct. 13, 2020.