A Close Encounter for Earth and Mars

[elleng]

On Monday night, Earth and Mars will become cosmically cozy. The two will be at their closest in more than a decade, separated by just 47 million miles.

Normally, Mars is about 140 million miles from Earth on average, but that gap can widen to as much as 250 million miles when the two planets are on opposite sides of the sun.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/31/science/mars-earth-closest-approach.html?

Too damn bad it's CLOUDY here!

[PJMcK]

1. One of our sister planets

Both Mars and Venus could have been habitable planets but their unique chemistries and distances from the sun made them barren (we believe) of life. Of course, they both lie within the "Goldilocks Zone" of orbits around the sun. As far as we know, only earth has brought forth advanced forms of life. Imagine what else the universe has to offer.

Thanks for posting this, elleng! I hope you have a telescope and clear skies and a happy Memorial Day weekend.

[elleng]

2. Thanks, PJ.

I have a camera (no telescope,) have caught little pics of Mars recently, but it's nothing but cloudy here now!

Enjoy your weekend.