Astronomy Picture of the Day

Z is for Mars


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zorg.ch
#85960 by @ 23.04.2006 00:00 - nach oben -
Z is for Mars

Explanation: This composite of images spaced about a week apart - from late July 2005 (bottom right) through February 2006 (top left) - traces the retrograde motion of ruddy-colored Mars through planet Earth's night sky. On November 7th, 2005 the Red Planet was opposite the Sun in Earth's sky (at opposition). That date occurred at the center of this series with Mars near its closest and brightest. But Mars didn't actually reverse the direction of its orbit to trace out the Z-shape. Instead, the apparent backwards or retrograde motion with respect to the background stars is a reflection of the motion of the Earth itself. Retrograde motion can be seen each time Earth overtakes and laps planets orbiting farther from the Sun, the Earth moving more rapidly through its own relatively close-in orbit. The familiar Pleiades star cluster lies at the upper left.

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zorg.ch
#85961 by @ 23.04.2006 01:35 - nach oben -
hä-hä bräää
zorg.ch
#85962 by @ 23.04.2006 01:36 - nach oben -
aber di eckigä chlamere händs nonig so im griff
zorg.ch
#86020 by @ 24.04.2006 23:49 - nach oben -
immerhin loht d'barbara mol dureschimmere, wie wiit sie sich bi de nasa scho ufegschlofe het. i denkes ime johr oder so bringt sie au eggigi chlammere und es sternbild "zorg" ane.