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If you like astronomy, book this Tuesday night (6) to look at the sky. It is that Mars – the fourth planet from the Sun and the second smallest in the Solar System – will be closer to Earth in a phenomenon that will only be repeated in 15 years.
The red planet will be less than 62.1 million kilometers from Earth. Considering that the longest distance ever recorded was 401 million kilometers, this is much closer.
If the weather helps, you’ll be able to see Mars with the naked eye and at the highest point in the sky around 11:09 am (Brasilia time). Due to the weather, you will not be able to observe Mars with the naked eye at the exact time of the approach. But the night of the 6th is also a good time: the planet will be at the highest point in the sky around 00:05, for example. If you’re lucky, you can also see Jupiter and Saturn shining closer to the horizon.
Understand
The closest possible encounter between the planets is when the Earth is farthest from the Sun and Mars is the closest to it. At that point, the two would be separated by a minimum of 54.6 million kilometers. This configuration is called opposition and occurs every two years or more.
The closest approach ever recorded took place in 2003, with only 55.7 million kilometers separating us from Mars. In 2018 something similar also happened. The two planets were very close, only 57.6 million kilometers apart.
The proximity of the Earth to Mars should only occur again in 2035, when the minimum distance should reach 56.9 million kilometers. In other words, we’ll only be as close as this time 15 years from now.
When this happens, space organizations take advantage of these short distances between planets to make expeditions to the red planet, since less fuel is spent to get there. This year, no fewer than three were made, one from the United States, one from the United Arab Emirates and one from China.
