Do you know what last Saturday was?
It was Red Planet Day. The day celebrates our sister planet of Mars (the 7th smallest planet, with the same rotational period as Earth), and it became a “thing” back in 1964. That’s when Mariner 4 was launched by JPL (the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of Caltech) and NASA to investigate the Red Planet. Mariner 4 was the first spacecraft to actually fly by Mars successfully, transmitting close-up images of the planet back to Earth. The first of many such missions.
As a matter of fact, right now there are 5 such units orbiting Mars. Oh, yeah- and the Curiosity Rover and the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity are ensconced upon the surface of the Red Planet. Feeding much data to those of us here on Earth.
Now, you might have thought that the pandemic canceled all the celebrations for this event. But, that’s not really true. Because the only things we are supposed to do is learn more about Mars- and try to grab a glimpse of the planet at night.
Such as the fact that Mars and Earth are roughly the same size. Or, that Mars has the biggest dust storms in the Solar System. Oh, and Mount Everest is overshadowed by the largest mountain on Mars (the tallest in the solar system), Olympus Mons.
It’s really too bad this celebration wasn’t held in October. Because for a few weeks in October, Mars was the third brightest object in the sky (overtaking Jupiter), right behind the Moon and Venus. And, because both Mars and Earth have elliptical orbits, they were closer to one another since 2003. (The 6th of October was the date of the closest encounter- but not exactly bedfellows at 62 million km apart.) And, on the 13th of October, Earth was dead set between Mars and the Sun, so Mars seemed the brightest of all the days of close encounters. And, since it was Rosh Chodesh Mar Cheshvan on the 16th (a new moon), Mars was the brightest object in our skies.
Yeah, I know. I should have told you all this stuff last week.
Sorry. I had other things that kept moving around in the queue.
P.S. You do recognize the title mnemonic, right?
Very interesting, Lia loves watching the moon and planets! Glad your site is back up.
Martha recently posted..Encourage Little Ones
Don’t miss the full moon this weekend, then!
I am so out of touch with the sky nowadays. Guess I concentrate too much on sunsets and clouds. When my son was young, we used to take him to a local observatory for special events. He will still (well, before the pandemic) visit one of his uncles, who has a backyard telescope. So, needless to say, I did not observe Red Planet Day.
Alana recently posted..The Painting of Memory
I’m sorry you missed the chance to see Mars. I was shocked when I saw how clear it appeared.
I know this if off topic but I’m looking into starting my
own blog and was wondering what all is required to get set up?
I’m assuming having a blog like yours would cost a pretty penny?
I’m not very web smart so I’m not 100% certain. Any recommendations or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Montaj Parbriz Volkswagen Golf V Variant recently posted..Montaj Parbriz Volkswagen Golf V Variant
If you use WordPress, then it’s a breeze. I would start off using the free version, get into the hang of posting a blog, adding the plug-ins you need. After you realize that you are going to keep the commitment (about 4 months in), then get a domain where you install WordPress, back up your free blog,and restore it on your new site. That’s it.
Yes, I made sure I saw that beautiful celestial display!! It was beautiful!!
WooHoo! Thrilled you got to see it.
I’m sorry I missed this event, it would have been worth seeing.
Barb recently posted..7 Crucial elements you need to make your website a selling machine
It was pretty cool, Barb. We have another event coming on the 21st of December- when Jupiter and Venus appear to be almost touching in our sky view.