Monday, July 15, 2024

Red Mars Passes Uranus (pre-dawn)

While the red planet Mars travels towards its bright opposition in January, 2025, it will pass close to a number of other planets and deep sky objects. In the eastern pre-dawn sky on Monday, July 15, the bright, magnitude 0.95 planet Mars will pass only 0.55 degrees (or about the full moon's diameter) south of 86 times fainter, blue-green Uranus. The two planets will be close enough to share the view in binoculars from July 7 to 23. On the mornings preceding July 15, Uranus will be positioned to the lower left (or celestial east) of Mars.
On Monday, Uranus' speck will sit just to Mars' upper left. On the nights beyond July 15, Uranus will shift farther to the upper right of Mars. The duo will share the view in a backyard telescope from Saturday to Wednesday, but your telescope will likely mirror and/or flip their arrangement.

(Data courtesy of Starry Night)
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