Astronomy Picture of the Day

                         Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! [1] Each day a different image or photograph of our
 fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a
                           professional astronomer.

                                2018 August 31
                                      [2]
                                  Close Mars
  Image Credit & Copyright [3] : D. Peach [4] , V. Suc, Chilescope team [5]

Explanation: Still bright in evening skies, Mars was just past opposition [6]
and closest to Earth on July 31, a mere 57.6 million kilometers away. Captured
only a week later, this remarkable image shows the Red Planet's disk [7] near
its maximum size in earthbound telescopes, but still less than 1/74th the
apparent diameter of a Full Moon. Broad regional surface shadings are starting
to reappear in the tantalizing [8] view as the latest planet-wide dust storm
subsides [9] . With the bright south polar cap at the bottom, the Valles
Marineris extends along the center of the disk. Just below it lies [10]  the
roughly circular Solis Lacus region sometimes known as the Eye of Mars [11] .
In a line, three prominent dark spots left of center are the volcanic Tharsis
Montes.

                      Tomorrow's picture: Aerosol Earth

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    Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff [23] (MTU [24] ) & Jerry Bonnell [25]
                                  (UMCP [26] )
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Site notes:
  [1] archivepix.html
  [2] image/1808/m2018_08_06Adp.jpg
  [3] lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  [4] http://www.damianpeach.com/
  [5] http://www.chilescope.com/
  [6] http://www.planetary.org/blogs/bruce-betts/
mars-opposition-lunar-eclipse.html
  [7] ap180601.html
  [8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Martian_Chr...
  [9] https://mars.nasa.gov/mer/mission/status_oppo...
  [10] http://hubblesite.org/image/1384/news_release...
  [11] http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/2003JALPO..45b...
  [12] ap180830.html
  [13] archivepix.html
  [14] lib/apsubmit2015.html
  [15] lib/aptree.html
  [16] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apo...
  [17] calendar/allyears.html
  [18] /apod.rss
  [19] lib/edlinks.html
  [20] lib/about_apod.html
  [21] http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?dat...
  [22] ap180901.html
  [23] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  [24] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  [25] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnel...
  [26] http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  [27] lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  [28] https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Priv...
  [29] https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  [30] https://www.nasa.gov/
  [31] https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  [32] http://www.mtu.edu/

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