August 2-5, 2026: Watch Mars march eastward in front of Taurus as it passes between Elnath and Zeta Tauri. Follow the Red Planet’s changing position during morning twilight.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Venus as an Evening Star
Mars, Taurus Horns
During morning twilight, Mars marches eastward in front of Taurus, passing between the Bull’s horns.
An hour before sunrise, step outside with a binocular and look eastward. Many of winter’s bright evening stars are returning to the eastern morning sky after disappearing into western evening twilight during the spring months. Orion is returning to the eastern morning sky below Taurus, making this a rewarding region to watch from morning to morning.
Reddish Mars is over 25° above the eastern horizon. It is dimmer than expected because it is 185 million miles away. Next February, when Earth passes between Mars and the sun, the planet reaches opposition and is 10 times brighter than it is this morning.
Similar in color to the planet, Aldebaran, Taurus’ brightest star, is about 15° to Mars’ upper right, while Betelgeuse, Orion’s shoulder, is about the same distance to the lower right. Mars is now noticeably closer to Taurus’ horns than it is to Aldebaran.
Mars marches eastward, passing between the Bull’s horns, Elnath and Zeta Tauri. Elnath, the northern horn and the brighter of the pair, is 7.9° to Zeta Tauri’s upper left, too far apart to fit into the same binocular field of view. Each morning, look for Mars’ changing position against the distant starfield.
Highlights
Here’s what to see:
• August 2: Mars–Elnath, 5.4°; Mars is to Elnath’s lower right. Mars–Zeta Tauri, 2.6°; Mars is to Zeta Tauri’s upper left.
• August 3: Mars–Elnath, 5.5°; Mars–Zeta Tauri, 2.4°. Mars passes between the horns.
• August 4: Mars–Elnath, 5.8°; Mars–Zeta Tauri, 2.3°. Mars–Zeta Tauri conjunction.
• August 5: Mars–Elnath, 6.2°; Mars–Zeta Tauri, 2.5°.
While there is no significance to Mars passing between the horns, it serves as an interesting milestone along the ecliptic and an easy-to-see marker of the planet’s eastward motion from morning to morning. Few planetary motions are as easy to follow through a binocular as Mars moving between Taurus’ horns over several mornings.
Watch the Red Planet march between Taurus’ horns.
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