With Mars at its brightest in 15 years and two full moons 香蕉视频直播� October is a great month to look up.
Mallory Thorp, a PhD student in the department of astronomy and physics at the University of Victoria, explains that Mars is currently in opposition, which is a 香蕉视频直播渇ancy word香蕉视频直播� used for when the planets and the sun align.
香蕉视频直播淪o the Earth is going to be in between the sun and Mars,香蕉视频直播� said Thorp.
Mars slides into opposition every two years 香蕉视频直播� due to Earth香蕉视频直播檚 position on its orbit this is as close as our planet will get to Mars in the next 15 years, making the red planet extremely bright and distinct.
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香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 a combination of opposition and our position within our own elliptical orbit,香蕉视频直播� she adds.
To locate Mars, Thorp suggests going out just after sunset and gazing northeast, which is the direction the sun and planets rise. As the night goes on, Mars 香蕉视频直播� which will be bright orange 香蕉视频直播� will move from east to west across the sky basically following the same path the sun makes during the day.
香蕉视频直播淚t will really stand out from any other star,香蕉视频直播� she said. 香蕉视频直播淚 think if you even stood outside and put your head up and wiggled it around, your eyes would catch it.香蕉视频直播�
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Mars will be closest to Earth until Oct. 13 and after that it, the red planet will get 香蕉视频直播渄immer and dimmer for 15 years香蕉视频直播� before it comes back around, although there are periods where Mars will get slightly brighter when in opposition.
Another notable but unrelated space event this month is a double full moon.
There are about 29.5 days in between each full moon, which means there香蕉视频直播檚 usually only a chance for one full moon a month. However, if one occurs at the beginning of the month, there香蕉视频直播檚 a chance a second one could take place before the month is over 香蕉视频直播� which is exactly what happened in October with the first full moon taking place on Oct. 1 and the second occurring on Oct. 31.
香蕉视频直播淭his is the time of year where we all get a little bit sad as the days get shorter and it starts to get dark early, but it香蕉视频直播檚 a nice reminder that there香蕉视频直播檚 lots of beautiful stuff that we don香蕉视频直播檛 have to stay up late to see now,香蕉视频直播� said Clare Higgs, a fellow PhD student.
For the best stargazing experience, Higgs likes to go to the beach under Mount Douglas due to the lack of streetlights, while Thorp recommends Cadboro Bay, adding that being near open water is a great way to reduce light pollution.
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