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 local timezone Europe/London.
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 | MagnitudeMag | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 Apr 15 | -0.01 | 19h 06m 42s | -23° 17’ 48” | Sagittarius |
| 2018 Apr 16 | -0.03 | 19h 08m 57s | -23° 16’ 05” | Sagittarius |
| 2018 Apr 17 | -0.05 | 19h 11m 12s | -23° 14’ 17” | Sagittarius |
| 2018 Apr 18 | -0.07 | 19h 13m 26s | -23° 12’ 28” | Sagittarius |
| 2018 Apr 19 | -0.09 | 19h 15m 38s | -23° 10’ 32” | Sagittarius |
| 2018 Apr 20 | -0.12 | 19h 17m 50s | -23° 08’ 35” | Sagittarius |
| 2018 Apr 21 | -0.14 | 19h 20m 02s | -23° 06’ 34” | Sagittarius |
| 2018 Apr 22 | -0.16 | 19h 22m 12s | -23° 04’ 31” | Sagittarius |
| 2018 Apr 23 | -0.18 | 19h 24m 20s | -23° 02’ 23” | Sagittarius |
| 2018 Apr 24 | -0.21 | 19h 26m 30s | -23° 00’ 14” | Sagittarius |
| 2018 Apr 25 | -0.23 | 19h 28m 36s | -22° 58’ 01” | Sagittarius |
| 2018 Apr 26 | -0.25 | 19h 30m 43s | -22° 55’ 46” | Sagittarius |
| 2018 Apr 27 | -0.28 | 19h 32m 48s | -22° 53’ 30” | Sagittarius |
| 2018 Apr 28 | -0.30 | 19h 34m 54s | -22° 51’ 12” | Sagittarius |
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 | |