The Red Planet Mars continues its eastward march among the starry background. It appears between the star Antares and Saturn during early morning twilight today. As the earth rotates each day, the sun, moon, stars, and planets rise in the east and set in the west. At the same time, the planets move eastward in their orbits. In early January, Mars passed bright Jupiter which is 28 degrees to the upper right of Mars this morning. During February, Mars passed Antares. This morning the star is 12 degrees to the lower right of Mars.
Mars is on its way to a conjunction with Saturn in early April. This morning, Saturn is 16 degrees to the left of Mars. During this month (March), watch Mars, for which the month is named, march eastward to close the distance with Saturn.
The articles that follow provide details about the planets visible without optical assistance (binoculars or telescope):
- Chart and Image Collection
- 2018: The Morning Sky
- 2018: The Evening Sky
- 2018, March 3: Venus-Mercury Conjunction
- 2018, March 18: Venus, Mercury and the Moon
- 2018, April 2: Saturn-Mars Conjunction
- 2018: Mercury in the Morning Sky
- 2018: Mercury in the Evening Sky
- 2018: Five Planets Visible at Once
- 2018: Venus the Evening Star
- 2017-2019: Mars Observing Year with a Perihelic Opposition, July 27, 2018
- 2018: Mars Perihelic Opposition
- 2017-2018: Jupiter’s Year in the Claws of the Scorpion, A Triple Conjunction
- 2018: Three Planets at Opposition in 79 days
- 2018: Saturn with the Teapot