Mars
Mars Sky Charts and Coordinates
This is a simplified sky chart, showing where Mars is now with respect to the brightest stars and constellations.
More advanced sky charts are available on TheSkyLive for this object: 1) the Online Planetarium which is interactive and allows to select dates and additional objects to visualize; and 2) the Live Position and Data Tracker which provides the highest precision position data and features deep sky imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey.
High Precision Live Sky Chart
Mars Rise and Set Times
Today's Mars rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]. All times are relative to the Europe/London timezone.
Mars Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Mars computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Mars in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Apparent DiameterDiameter | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 Oct 09 | 20h 49m 50s | -21° 18’ 08” | -1.12 | 14.6” | Capricornus |
| 2018 Oct 10 | 20h 51m 39s | -21° 07’ 40” | -1.10 | 14.5” | Capricornus |
| 2018 Oct 11 | 20h 53m 30s | -20° 57’ 02” | -1.08 | 14.3” | Capricornus |
| 2018 Oct 12 | 20h 55m 20s | -20° 46’ 17” | -1.05 | 14.2” | Capricornus |
| 2018 Oct 13 | 20h 57m 14s | -20° 35’ 21” | -1.03 | 14.1” | Capricornus |
| 2018 Oct 14 | 20h 59m 08s | -20° 24’ 19” | -1.01 | 14.0” | Capricornus |
| 2018 Oct 15 | 21h 01m 02s | -20° 13’ 06” | -0.98 | 13.8” | Capricornus |
| 2018 Oct 16 | 21h 03m 00s | -20° 01’ 46” | -0.96 | 13.7” | Capricornus |
| 2018 Oct 17 | 21h 04m 58s | -19° 50’ 17” | -0.94 | 13.6” | Capricornus |
| 2018 Oct 18 | 21h 06m 56s | -19° 38’ 41” | -0.91 | 13.4” | Capricornus |
| 2018 Oct 19 | 21h 08m 56s | -19° 26’ 57” | -0.89 | 13.3” | Capricornus |
| 2018 Oct 20 | 21h 10m 57s | -19° 15’ 02” | -0.87 | 13.2” | Capricornus |
| 2018 Oct 21 | 21h 12m 59s | -19° 03’ 02” | -0.85 | 13.1” | Capricornus |
| 2018 Oct 22 | 21h 15m 02s | -18° 50’ 53” | -0.82 | 13.0” | Capricornus |
Distance of Mars from Earth
The following chart shows the distance of Mars from Earth as a function of time. Distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with a 2 days interval.
The reported distances might be inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of Mars is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Light Curve of Mars
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Mars, according to the most recent ephemerides data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.
Mars Physical Data
The following shows the known values of the most important physical parameters of Mars. Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Physical Parameter | Value | Relative to Earth |
|---|---|---|
| Diameter | 6779 km | 0.5320 |
| Mass | 0.641693 x 1024 kg | 0.1074 |
| Density | 3.934 gr/cm3 | 0.7135 |
| Escape Velocity | 5.03 km/s | 0.4495 |
| Sideral Rotation | 24.6230 hours | 1.0288 |
| Absolute Magnitude | -1.52 | |
| Geometric Albedo | 0.15 | |