TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The opposition of planet Mars, which is the closest to the red planet is with earth, is taking place today on Wednesday, August 1. Researcher of the National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (Lapan) Rhorom Priyatikanto provided some explanation.
“The minimum distance between Earth and Mars of 54.5 million kilometers happens under these three conditions, first is that the earth is at an aphelion or furthest distance from the Sun, second is when Mars is at its perihelion or closest position to the sun, and third is Mars in an opposition is when Mars is opposing the sun,” said Rhorom to Tempo on Tuesday, July 31.
Basically, said Rhorom, earth and mars are within an elliptical orbit with the sun as its center. The distance between earth and the sun is between 147.1 million kilometers to 152.1 million kilometers. Meanwhile, the distance between the sun and mars ranges from 206.6-249.2 million kilometers.
This means that the distance between mars and earth varies from 54.5 million kilometers to 401.3 million kilometers.
According to LAPAN’s records, August 27,2003 saw mars’ opposition be 55.8 million kilometers from earth, which has been deemed to be a rare phenomenon and will only be repeated in 2287.
Considering the close distance, mars can be viewed with the naked eye and through the lenses of a telescope as a small red dot in and can be seen starting from 19:05 local time.
MOH KHORY ALFARIZI