The farthest Mars this year is on the 18th of this month!

Wang Kechao, director of science popularization at the Zijinshan Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that Mars, the "neighbor" of the Earth, will move to the farthest position from the Earth in this rendezvous cycle on October 18. At that time, Mars will be approximately 2

Wang Kechao, director of science popularization at the Zijinshan Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that Mars, the "neighbor" of the Earth, will move to the farthest position from the Earth in this rendezvous cycle on October 18. At that time, Mars will be approximately 2.54 astronomical units away from Earth, equivalent to approximately 380 million kilometers. This is also the farthest distance between Mars and Earth this year.

Wang Kechao introduced that Mars and Earth are both planets in the solar system that orbit the sun, and their distances are often far and close. The average convergence period of these two planets is about 780 days, or about 26 months. In each cycle, Mars and Earth will experience a "rendezvous" and also the farthest distance. During this rendezvous cycle, Mars moved to its closest position to Earth on December 1, 2022, at a distance of approximately 0.54 astronomical units.

However, there are also differences in the closest and farthest distances between Mars and Earth during each convergence cycle. The closest distance between Mars and Earth is approximately 55 million kilometers, with a maximum distance of over 400 million kilometers. This means that a probe on Mars can communicate with Earth in as little as 3 minutes and as long as 22 minutes, "said Wang Kechao.

As a 'close neighbor of Earth', Mars has always been a hot exploration topic for scientists and astronauts. Modern research has found that iron oxide is widely distributed on the surface of Mars, giving it a red appearance. Similar to Earth, Mars is mainly composed of silicate rocks. The terrain of Mars is also very rich, and the surface also has valleys, alluvial plains, deltas, deserts, and polar ice sheets similar to those on Earth. Like Earth, there are also sandstorms on Mars. The duration of Mars sandstorms can last for more than 3 months.

Mars is considered to be another planet besides Earth that may have nurtured and existed life. For humans, it is not only a planet, but also represents an exploration of the unknown universe and the future survival and development of humanity. That is why we have a special fondness for Mars, "said Wang Kechao.

Source: Xinhua Viewpoint

Editor: Cheng Jiayu

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