Mars will shine near the blue star Spica at sundown on Sept. 13, however you may want a transparent view of the western horizon to catch the colourful duo earlier than they slip swiftly out of view.
Look west because the solar units and you will find Mars lower than 10 levels above the summer time horizon, with Spica shining to its decrease left with the celebs of the constellation Virgo. If you are new to navigating the night time sky, it is helpful to do not forget that the width of your clenched fist held at arm’s size equates to roughly 10 levels, whereas the span of your center three fingers measures roughly 5 levels of sky.
Both Mars and Spica will set beneath the horizon just a little over an hour after the solar, so attempt to discover an elevated spot with a transparent view of the western horizon to catch the colourful cosmic pair earlier than they disappear.
The level of sunshine that we name Spica is in actuality a binary star system composed of two magnificent stellar bodies with a combined luminosity more than 12,000 times brighter than our sun. It is the brightest jewel in the constellation Virgo, yet at a distance of 250 light-years from our solar system, its blue-white sparkle doesn’t even rank amongst the top 10 brightest stellar bodies that are visible from Earth’s northern hemisphere.
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Mars, in the meantime, owes its well-known purple hue to an oxidation course of that rusts iron minerals current within the martian rocks, soil and mud. The coming weeks will see the purple planet grow to be more and more onerous to identify because it attracts nearer to the solar in Earth’s night sky. The development will proceed within the runup to the Red Planet’s photo voltaic conjunction in January 2026, when the rocky world will cross behind the solar from our perspective, to emerge weeks later as a vibrant purple morning star within the predawn sky.
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