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APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Mars Rising Behind Elephant Rock
Explanation: Yesterday, at about 10 am Universal Time , Mars and Earth passed closer than in nearly 60,000 years. Mars , noticeably red, remains the brightest object in the eastern sky just after sunset. The best views of Mars, however, will continue to be from the robot spacecraft currently orbiting Mars: the Mars Global Surveyor and the Mars Odyssey . The current pass sparked the launching of four new spacecraft toward Mars, some of which will deploy landers early next year and likely return even more spectacular view s of our planetary neighbor. Pictured above , Mars was photographed rising in the southeast behind Elephant Rock in the Valley of Fire State Park , Nevada , USA .
| Date | August 28, 2003 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Credit & Copyright: Wally Pacholka (Astropics) |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |