Great Mars Opposition of 2003
This page contains images of the Mars produced by members of the University
Lowbrow Astronomers. Click on an image to see a larger version of the
image and other information.
The best time to observe Mars with a telescope is beginning about a month before
opposition (which occurs once during the two year cycle) and ending about a
month after opposition. The rest of the time, it is difficult to see any
detail. Every 15 years there is an exceptionally good opposition; the
last one was in 2003. The 2003 opposition was even better than most, the
last time Mars was this close to the Earth was about 100,000 years ago, the
next time it will be this close will be in 284 years.
Details that are easy to see in a telescope are the polar caps and the maria.
Other details, such as the moons, are harder to see. The sketches on this page
were drawn during the Great Mars Opposition of 2003.
Sketches by Peter Alway

Sketches by Mark Deprest

Sketches by Doug Scobel


Links to Other Planets
Other Planets
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Copyright Info
Copyright © 2015, the University Lowbrow Astronomers. (The University Lowbrow Astronomers are an amateur astronomy club based in Ann Arbor, Michigan).
This page revised Tuesday, April 10, 2018 7:08 PM.
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