Mars positions

The Mars takes about 32/17 years (just under 2) for a solar circumnavigation why he good six per year zodiac signs moves (more than half of twelve). After 32 years it has circumnavigated the sun 17 times and the earth (32 circumnavigations) has overtaken it 15 times on the inner orbit - which is exactly the case when Mars is in opposition to the sun. After such an over-cycle, which ends with a conjunction , Mars is roughly back at its starting position, albeit with a deviation of a good week. An even coarser approximation for the cycle time ratio is 15: 8. In 15 years Mars has orbited the sun 8 times and was overtaken by the earth 7 times. Here, however, the difference is around one month (see the white line for 2018 in the table below compared to the lines for 2003 and 2033 at the edges of this block). After 79 (= 2 × 32 + 15) years, the earth has overtaken Mars 38 times (2 × 15 + 7) and the calendar deviation is only two to four days.

From one opposition to the next it takes 25 (e.g. January 16, 2025 to February 19, 2027) to 26.5 (e.g. June 28, 2033 to September 15, 2035) months during which the planet is around hiked one to two and a half (difference to 24 months) signs of the zodiac

Brightness over the course of the year

In perihelion , Mars is in the constellation Aquarius and is then only 1.3811 AU away from the Sun. If it is in opposition in the transition from August to December - when the sun is in the opposite Leo - then it is less than 0.4 AU away from the earth, takes up to 25 arc seconds and shines with almost –2.9 mag more apparently Brightness . During the lunar eclipse of July 27, 2018 , it was, just like the moon, exactly in opposition to the west of Capricorn, was at least −2.78 mag bright and was about 6 ° south (below) of the satellite. The mentioned angle is explained by the inclination of Mars (see next section).

In aphelion , Mars is in Leo and is then 1.6662 AU away from the Sun. If it is in opposition to it in the transition from February to March - when the sun is in Aquarius - then at a distance of almost 0.7 AU from the earth it takes only about 14 arc seconds and only shines with good (or, because of the minus sign, scarce ) -1.2 mag.

Orbit inclination

The orbit of Mars is inclined by 1.850 ° with respect to the ecliptic . In conjunction in August, Mars is about 1.67 AU away from the Sun (i.e. 2.67 from Earth) and is maximally raised; its elevation angle relative to the earth is then about 1.85 ° × 1.67 ÷ 2.67 ≈ 1.16 ° = 69 ′ (August 11, 2002: 68.96 ′). In conjunction in February, its distance to the Sun is only about 1.375 AU, which is why the maximum dip is 1.85 ° × 1.375 ÷ 2.375 ≈ 1.07 ° = 64.3 ′ (February 4, 2011: 64.67 ′).

If Mars is in opposition in August, it is roughly where it is in conjunction in February - only the earth has moved 180 ° around the sun from there and is now much closer (0.375 AU vs. 2.375 AU ) on Mars. The 1.85 ° inclination of the orbit becomes approximately (approximation for small angles) 1.85 ° × 1.375 ÷ 0.375≈6.8 °, which Mars is lower than the ecliptic. Since the angle is slightly smaller at the end of July and the moon is exactly on one of its two nodes with the ecliptic during a lunar eclipse , this explains the almost 6 ° that Mars was south of the moon during the lunar eclipse of July 27, 2018 .

Mars roughly penetrates the nodes of its orbit with the ecliptic when it is in conjunction in the months of May and November. Then the central angle can fall below 16 arc minutes ( apparent radius of the sun) and there can be an occlusion . In the course of the 21st century, however, Mars will only be covered by the sun five times, namely on November 18, 2023, November 1, 2038, May 2, 2045, November 10, 2070 and May 15, 2077. Those so far The last occultation was on May 12, 1998 and had the extremely small central angle of 1.8 minutes, which will also be reached in 2070.

Table of constellations from 1997 to 2100

The following table shows the special constellations of Mars for 1997–2100 along with planetary loops . Coverings are marked in bold in the right column. If the opposition lies on the border between two constellations, it should be noted that because of the retrograde, Mars moves into the first-named constellation, while it has actually already been in the second-named constellation, which it only passes through again afterwards. The minimum and maximum values for distance and apparent size in opposition as well as minimum and maximum central angles plus coverages are bolded.

The values relate to 51.5 ° north latitude ( Dortmund , Göttingen , Halle (Saale) ) and the date, if applicable, to Dortmund (or Bern ; 7.5 ° east longitude). The opposition can be sorted according to calendar date (without year) in order to show the illumination over the course of the year; conversely, the columns for distance and apparent size can also be sorted (which also sorts the mag values for the apparent brightness, more precisely than displayed). In an analogous way, the conjunction can be ordered according to the calendar in order to show the distance from the center over the course of the year, and conversely, it can be sorted according to the distance from the center, taking into account the sign. For a 79-year over-cycle, extreme numerical values are bolded, as are the central angles for occultations.

Stationary, then retrograde	opposition					Stationary, then clockwise	Conjunction with the sun
Stationary, then retrograde	date	Distance ( AE )	Brightness ( mag )	Apparent size ( ″ )	Constellation	Stationary, then clockwise	date	Center -to- center distance ( ′ )
0Feb 6, 1997	March 17, 1997	0.661 AU	−1.29 mag	14.18 ″	Virgin	April 27, 1997	May 12, 1998	0+ 1.8 ′
March 18, 1999	April 24, 1999	0.583 AU	−1.66 mag	16.06 ″	Virgin	0June 4, 1999	0July 1, 2000	+52.3 ′
May 11, 2001	June 13, 2001	0.456 AU	−2.35 mag	20.55 ″	Snake Bearer (N) Scorpio / Sagittarius (S)	July 20, 2001	Aug 11, 2002	0+68.96 ′

July 29, 2003	Aug 28, 2003	0.373 AU	−2.88 mag	25.12 ″	Aquarius	27 Sep 2003	Sep 15 2004	+57.7 ′
0Oct 1, 2005	0Nov 7, 2005	0.470 AU	−2.33 mag	19.93 ″	Aries (N) / Whale (S)	Dec 10, 2005	Oct 23, 2006	+23.3 ′
Nov 15, 2007	Dec 24, 2007	0.593 AU	−1.64 mag	15.80 ″	Twins	Jan. 30, 2008	0Dec 5, 2008	-27.8 ′
Dec 20, 2009	Jan. 29, 2010	0.664 AU	−1.28 mag	14.10 ″	cancer	March 10, 2010	0Feb 4, 2011	0-64.67 ′
Jan. 24, 2012	0March 3, 2012	0.674 AU	−1.23 mag	13.89 ″	Leo / Virgo	April 14, 2012	April 18, 2013	-23.9 ′
0March 1, 2014	0April 8, 2014	0.621 AU	−1.47 mag	15.08 ″	Virgin	May 20, 2014	June 14, 2015	+37.2 ′
17th April 2016	May 22, 2016	0.509 AU	−2.05 mag	18.37 ″	Libra / Scorpio	June 30, 2016	July 27, 2017	0+66.17 ′
June 26, 2018	July 27, 2018	0.386 AU	−2.78 mag	24.24 ″	Capricorn	28 Aug 2018	0Sep 2 2019	0+65.06 ′
Sep 10 2020	Oct 14, 2020	0.419 AU	−2.62 mag	22.33 ″	fishes	Nov 14, 2020	0Oct 8, 2021	+39.1 ′
Oct 30, 2022	08 Dec 2022	0.550 AU	−1.87 mag	17.03 ″	bull	Jan. 12, 2023	Nov 18, 2023	0- 7.0 ′
07 Dec 2024	Jan 16, 2025	0.644 AU	−1.38 mag	14.54 "	Gemini / Cancer	Feb 24, 2025	0Jan. 9, 2026	-56.5 ′
Jan 10, 2027	Feb 19, 2027	0.678 AU	−1.21 mag	13.81 ″	lion	0April 1, 2027	March 21, 2028	-48.7 ′
Feb 14, 2029	March 25, 2029	0.649 AU	−1.34 mag	14.42 ″	Virgin	0May 5, 2029	May 25, 2030	+16.6 ′
March 29, 2031	0May 4th. 2031	0.559 AU	−1.79 mag	16.75 ″	Libra	June 13, 2031	July 11, 2032	+58.8 ′
May 27, 2033	June 28, 2033	0.427 AU	−2.52 mag	21.91 ″	Sagittarius	0Aug 1, 2033	19 Aug 2034	0+68.64 ′

Aug 15, 2035	Sep 15 2035	0.382 AU	−2.84 mag	24.52 ″	Aquarius / Pisces (N), Whale (S)	Oct 15, 2035	23 Sep 2036	+51.8 ′
Oct 13, 2037	Nov 19, 2037	0.500 AU	−2.16 mag	18.73 ″	bull	23 Dec 2037	0Nov 1, 2038	+ 12.9 ′
Nov 23, 2039	0Jan 2, 2040	0.614 AU	−1.53 mag	15.25 ″	Twins	0Feb 9, 2040	Dec 17, 2040	-39.3 ′
Dec 28, 2041	0Feb 6, 2042	0.672 AU	−1.24 mag	13.93 ″	Cancer / Leo	March 18, 2042	Feb 20, 2043	0-63.17 ′
0Feb 1, 2044	March 11, 2044	0.668 AU	−1.26 mag	14.01 ″	Virgin	April 22, 2044	0May 2, 2045	0- 8.5 ′
March 11, 2046	April 17, 2046	0.601 AU	−1.57 mag	15.57 ″	Virgin	May 28, 2046	June 25, 2047	+46.5 ′
April 30, 2048	0June 3, 2048	0.480 AU	−2.21 mag	19.51 ″	Snake Bearer (N) / Scorpio (S)	July 10, 2048	0Aug 4, 2049	0+68.30 ′
July 15, 2050	Aug 14, 2050	0.374 AU	−2.87 mag	25.02 ″	Capricorn	13 Sep 2050	Sep 10 2051	0+61.24 ′
22 Sep 2052	Oct 28, 2052	0.446 AU	−2.46 mag	20.98 ″	Fish / Whale (S of Aries)	Nov 29, 2052	Oct 16, 2053	+30.3 ′
0Nov 8, 2054	17 Dec 2054	0.574 AU	−1.73 mag	16.30 ″	Taurus / Gemini	23 Jan 2055	Nov 28, 2055	−18.9 ′
Dec 14, 2056	Jan. 24, 2057	0.656 AU	−1.31 mag	14.27 ″	cancer	0March 4, 2057	23 Jan 2058	0-62.58 ′
Jan. 18, 2059	Feb. 27, 2059	0.677 AU	−1.22 mag	13.83 ″	lion	0April 9, 2059	0Apr 6, 2060	−35.3 ′
22 Feb 2061	0April 2, 2061	0.635 AU	−1.41 mag	14.76 ″	Virgin	May 13, 2061	0June 6, 2062	+29.1 ′
0April 9, 2063	May 14, 2063	0.532 AU	−1.94 mag	17.59 ″	Libra	June 23, 2063	July 20, 2064	0+63.67 ′
June 12, 2065	July 13, 2065	0.402 AU	−2.67 mag	23.29 ″	Sagittarius	Aug 15, 2065	27 Aug 2066	0+67.00 ′

31 Aug 2067	0Oct 2, 2067	0.400 AU	−2.73 mag	23.43 ″	Fish (N) whale (S)	0Nov 2, 2067	0Oct 1, 2068	+44.8 ′
Oct 23, 2069	Nov 30, 2069	0.528 AU	−1.98 mag	17.74 ″	bull	0Jan 4, 2070	Nov 10, 2070	0+ 1.8 ′
0Dec 2, 2071	Jan. 11, 2072	0.631 AU	−1.43 mag	14.83 ″	Twins	Feb. 18, 2072	Dec 30, 2072	−49.9 ′
0Jan 4, 2074	Feb 14, 2074	0.676 AU	−1.22 mag	13.84 ″	lion	March 26, 2074	0March 9, 2075	−56.7 ′
0Feb 9, 2076	March 19, 2076	0.659 AU	−1.30 mag	14.22 ″	Virgin	April 29, 2076	May 15, 2077	0+ 6.4 ′
March 21, 2078	April 27, 2078	0.579 AU	−1.70 mag	16.18 ″	Virgo / Libra	0June 6, 2078	0July 5, 2079	+54.2 ′
May 14, 2080	June 16, 2080	0.450 AU	−2.38 mag	20.80 ″	Snake Bearer (N) Scorpio / Sagittarius (S)	July 22, 2080	13 Aug 2081	0+68.99 ′

0Aug 2, 2082	0Sep 1 2082	0.374 AU	−2.88 mag	25.05 ″	Aquarius	0Oct 1, 2082	Sep 18 2083	+56.1 ′
0Oct. 4, 2084	Nov 10, 2084	0.476 AU	−2.30 mag	19.68 ″	Aries (N) / Whale (S)	Dec 13, 2084	Oct 25, 2085	+20.5 ′
Nov 17, 2086	Dec. 27, 2086	0.597 AU	−1.61 mag	15.68 ″	Twins	0Feb 2, 2087	09 Dec 2087	-30.8 ′
22 Dec 2088	Jan 31, 2089	0.666 AU	−1.27 mag	14.06 ″	cancer	March 12, 2089	0Feb 8, 2090	0-64.73 ′
Jan. 26, 2091	0March 6, 2091	0.673 AU	−1.23 mag	13.91 ″	Leo / Virgo	April 17, 2091	April 21, 2092	−20.1 ′
0March 4, 2093	0April 11, 2093	0.617 AU	−1.50 mag	15.17 ″	Virgin	May 22, 2093	June 17, 2094	+39.8 ′
April 21, 2095	May 26, 2095	0.504 AU	−2.09 mag	18.59 ″	Scorpio	0July 3, 2095	29 July 2096	0+66.87 ′
June 30, 2097	July 31, 2097	0.383 AU	−2.81 mag	24.47 ″	Capricorn	31 Aug 2097	04th Sep 2098	0+64.08 ′
Sep 14 2099	Oct 18, 2099	0.424 AU	−2.59 mag	22.10 ″	fishes	Nov 18, 2099	Oct 11, 2100	+36.7 ′

literature

Multiyear Interactive Computer Almanac 1800-2050. US Naval Observatory

Web links

Oppositions of Mars , cseligman.com (English)

Remarks

↑ Strictly speaking, depending on the constellation, you have to reckon with 16 ± 0.25 minutes plus half the apparent size of Mars from 0.12 to 0.21 minutes.

↑ ^a ^b Mars positions on calsky.com

↑ The mag values for the apparent brightness with two decimal places were determined with Stellarium .

↑ all dates in UT1

↑ ^a ^b relative to the ecliptic

[1] Strictly speaking, depending on the constellation, you have to reckon with 16 ± 0.25 minutes plus half the apparent size of Mars from 0.12 to 0.21 minutes.

[Calsky-2] Mars positions on calsky.com