Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

ledfrisby t1_jcw21ew wrote

Little known fact: the Moon is actually much smaller than Mars. It just looks bigger because it's so much closer. This is known as an optical illusion.

~The more you know~

23

darrellbear t1_jcwbwi0 wrote

Mars is about twice the diameter of the moon, ~4,000 miles vs ~2,000 miles. It appeared about 1/100th the size at the time of the occultation, meaning it was about 200 times farther away, 50 million miles vs a bit less than 1/4 million for the moon. Both objects were also at opposition that night, Dec 7/8, 2022, 180 degrees from the sun in the sky from Earth's point of view. The moon is full at opposition (the very definition of truly full), planets farther from the Sun are basically closest, biggest and brightest during opposition. The Sun, Earth, moon and Mars were all in a straight line in space that night, an event called syzygy.

4

RooMyLife t1_jcwsd8u wrote

Outdone only by rythyms

Not quite as fun or interesting (or even pertaining to space) as your's

1

theillini19 OP t1_jcvzlvp wrote

My favorite picture I captured during the Moon/Mars occultation of December 2022. Captured with an Orion Skyquest XT8 8 inch Dobsonian and Nikon 1 J1 mirrorless camera.

3

EmersonEsq t1_jcxw6qz wrote

Great shot. The level of detail on Mars is amazing

2