Mars
Mars Position
Mars is currently in the constellation of Libra. The current Right Ascension is 14h 57m 36s and the Declination is -16° 19’ 58”.
Simplified sky chart showing where Mars is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars and constellations (see fuillscreen Online Planetarium)
Hihgher precision deep sky finder chart showing where Mars is right now (view fullscreen)
Also check out Where is Mars?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Mars in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Mars Distance
The distance of Mars from Earth is currently 344,248,269 kilometers, equivalent to 2.301158 Astronomical Units. Light takes 19 minutes and 8.2886 seconds to travel from Mars and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Mars from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with an interval of 1 day.
The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of Mars from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Mars to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100 the closest approach of Mars to Earth happens on Mon Aug 31 2082 at a distance of 0.37356580 Astronomical Units, or 55,884,648 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Mars brightness
The current visual magnitude of Mars is 1.66.
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 rise and set times
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Today's Mars rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
The rise and set times are defined as the time at which the upper limb of Mars touches the horizon, consideting the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmoshpere conditions cannot be modeled precisely the times reported here should be considered correct with an approximation of few minutes.
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 |
Mars 15 Days 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 Dec 07 | 14h 36m 39s | -14° 41’ 52” | 1.69 | 4.0” | Libra |
| 2019 Dec 08 | 14h 39m 15s | -14° 54’ 33” | 1.68 | 4.0” | Libra |
| 2019 Dec 09 | 14h 41m 53s | -15° 07’ 08” | 1.68 | 4.0” | Libra |
| 2019 Dec 10 | 14h 44m 30s | -15° 19’ 36” | 1.68 | 4.0” | Libra |
| 2019 Dec 11 | 14h 47m 07s | -15° 31’ 57” | 1.67 | 4.0” | Libra |
| 2019 Dec 12 | 14h 49m 45s | -15° 44’ 12” | 1.67 | 4.0” | Libra |
| 2019 Dec 13 | 14h 52m 23s | -15° 56’ 20” | 1.66 | 4.0” | Libra |
| 2019 Dec 14 | 14h 55m 00s | -16° 08’ 21” | 1.66 | 4.1” | Libra |
| 2019 Dec 15 | 14h 57m 39s | -16° 20’ 16” | 1.66 | 4.1” | Libra |
| 2019 Dec 16 | 15h 00m 20s | -16° 32’ 03” | 1.65 | 4.1” | Libra |
| 2019 Dec 17 | 15h 03m 00s | -16° 43’ 44” | 1.65 | 4.1” | Libra |
| 2019 Dec 18 | 15h 05m 39s | -16° 55’ 17” | 1.64 | 4.1” | Libra |
| 2019 Dec 19 | 15h 08m 21s | -17° 06’ 42” | 1.64 | 4.1” | Libra |
| 2019 Dec 20 | 15h 11m 02s | -17° 18’ 00” | 1.63 | 4.1” | Libra |