Photo Credit: NASA/JPL Caltech
Mars Opposition Week: To celebrate the opposition of Mars this year, we've collected some of our favorite Martian learning resources to share with you here. Despite its desert appearance, Mars is a fascinating and dynamic planet with much to explore. Decades of research through telescopes, satellites, rovers, and landers have provided the public with greater access to the Red Planet than ever. To explore Mars for yourself, we suggest checking out these fun websites, videos, and simulations.
Sky & Telescope Mars Profiler: For amateur astronomers with small telescopes, Sky and Telescope Magazine's Mars Profiler is an essential tool for studying Mars. The Mars Profiler calculates how Mars will appear from Earth and what surface features are visible at any given time. The program has viewing options for different types of telescopes to account for inverted and mirror images based on what telescope is being used. When looking through a telescope at Mars, this observing tool reveals what the observer is seeing. (https://skyandtelescope.org/observing/interactive-sky-watching-tools/mars-which-side-is-visible/)
Mars Now: An impressive simulation program from NASA's Mars Exploration Program, Mars Now tracks the locations of all satellites and probes at the Red Planet. Users can find the locations of the Curiosity Rover and InSight lander, or they can track the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter as it flies over Mars. The program tracks all currently operating spacecraft studying Mars, and it provides their locations at any time and date. Mars Now truly brings the fleet of spacecraft at the Red Planet to life. (https://mars.nasa.gov/explore/mars-now/)
MRO Image Gallery: Launched in 2005, The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been flying over Mars and studying the surface for well over a decade. The orbiter is best known for HiRISE, its high resolution camera used to map the surface of Mars in unparalleled detail. During its time at Mars, MRO has photographed mountains, avalanches, dust devils, ancient river beds, and massive impact basins for the benefit of scientific research. All of the images from the satellite are available to the public through NASA's image gallery. Researchers are continually surprised at how much these images from Mars mirror places on Earth. NASA's MRO Image Gallery shows Mars in incredible detail and beauty, all of which is visible from the comfort of home. (https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/MRO/images/index.html)
Lowell Observatory: Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona is one of the most historic places when it comes to researching the Red Planet. In the early 20th century, astronomer Percival Lowell worked at the observatory while surveying Mars with the finest telescopes of his day. Lowell charted the polar caps and studied the dark markings scattered across the Martian globe, allowing researchers to see the Red Planet like never before. This year, Lowell Observatory is offering free livestreams of Mars through its telescopes, narrated by expert astronomers from the observatory. The recorded and live sessions are open to anyone, and they can be found through Lowell Observatory's website. (https://lowell.edu/mars-at-opposition/#1601419201970-7389925e-56f2)
"The Curious Life of a Mars Rover": This short presentation from National Geographic follows the Mars Curiosity Rover through its journey across Gale Crater. Narrated by engineer Kobie Boykins, the talk discusses the technology behind the rover, as well as the recent discoveries made by Curiosity. Boykins' storytelling seems to put viewers on Mars themselves as he shares what it's like to operate a rover on the Red Planet. (https://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/0000014b-2424-d229-a15b-75fc6c650000)