Always an intriguing world, Mars offers both casual and serious observers many challenges and delights. It also provides astronomers a laboratory to study the atmosphere and surface of another planet, including the behavior of condensates and their effects on its atmosphere and surface. Mars is similar to Earth in that it has four seasons, exhibits global climates, changing weather patterns, annual thawing and growing of polar caps, storm clouds of water ice, howling dusty winds, and a variety of surface features that predictably change in color and size and appear to shift position over extended periods of time.

Mars appears more Earth-like to us than most of the other planets because we can observe its surface, atmospheric clouds and hazes, and its brilliant white polar caps.  The latter are composed of frozen CO₂ and underlying water ice, and wax and wane during the Martian year. These aspects, along with the changing seasons and the possibility of life, have made Mars one of the most studied planets in our solar system.

The Red Planet Mars offers both casual and serious observers many challenges and delights, as well as providing astronomers a laboratory to study another planet's atmosphere and surface. Some Martian features even appear to shift position around the surface over extended periods of time.

There are several cooperating international Mars observing programs under way to assist both professional and amateur astronomers. These include the International Mars Patrol (I.M.P.) coordinated by the Mars Section of the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers (A.L.P.O), the International MarsWatch, the Terrestrial Planets Section of the British Astronomical Association (B.A.A.), and the Mars Section of the Oriental Astronomical Association (O.A.A.).

Information for observing Mars during a typical apparition is presented in a separate report titled, “General Information for Apparitions of Mars.”

With the advent of modern CCD camera technology the amateur can produce useful images of Mars when it is as small as 3.5 arcsec. Early in an apparition, Mars rises in the east or morning sky and sets with the rotation of the Earth in the western or evening sky.  During the past few apparitions (2001-2012), observers began to take CCD images when Mars was only 32 degrees away from the Sun.  Since Mars was only a visual magnitude of ~1.8 then the planet would have been difficult to locate bright twilight hours.

In the pre-apparition reports the observer will find the motion of Mars in our sky, the characteristics for that particular apparition, information pertaining to the polar cap(s) and any special events that may be seen during that particular apparition.  As usual a calendar of events will be included with each report that contains cardinal dates for seasonal activity and orbital information of Mars.

As a general rule, an "apparition" begins when a planet emerges from the glare of the Sun shortly after conjunction. Mars will be in conjunction with the Sun on April 17, 2013 (303.0° Ls); however, it will not be safe to observe Mars until after June 08, 2013 when it is at least 12 degrees away from the glare of the Sun.

The apparent declination of Mars begins at 21.3° in mid-June 2013 and climbs north of the celestial equator throughout June and mid-July in the constellation Taurus. This is good news for those observing in the Northern Hemispheres because Mars will be seen fairly high in their sky during the early stages of the apparition. Mars will continue to be a few degrees north of the celestial equator until December 13, 2013 when it goes south for the remainder of the apparition and crossing from the constellation Virgo into Libra during the mid-August.

By January 03, 2014, a ‘0.8’ visual magnitude Mars is seen rising early in the morning sky in the constellation Virgo, it will be at western quadrature  and the phase or terminator will be at its widest (36°).  NOTE: The Solar Elongation for Mars is the angle between the lines of sight from Earth to the Sun and from Earth to Mars.  When these lines of sight form a right triangle then Mars is at quadrature (eastern or western).   For detailed definitions and graphics for the motion of Mars in our sky see these excellent web sites: Planetary Aspects and Elongations and Configurations.

Figure 1. A heliographic chart of the orbits of Mars and the Earth showing the relative positions of both planets.  Quadrature is when Mars is directly east or west of Earth as shown.

The 2013-2014 Mars apparition begins retrogression, or retrograde motion against the background stars ten and a half months after conjunction on March 01, 2014 (96° Ls) and continues through May 21, 2014 (134° Ls).  Each night for this brief period before, during and after opposition the Red Planet will appear to move backwards toward the western sky in the Virgo.

Since the Martian year is about 687 Earth days long -- nearly twice as long as ours, the Martian seasons are similarly extended. While the Earth's seasons are nearly equal in duration, the Martian seasons can vary by as much as 52 days from each other due to that planet's greater orbital eccentricity (see Figure 2).

Figure 2. A heliographic chart of the orbits of Mars and the Earth showing the relative seasons of both planets in the planetocentric longitude system Ls. Graphic Ephemeris for the 2014 Aphelic Apparition of Mars. Original graph prepared by C.F. Capen and modified by J.D. Beish.

Another general rule for predicting oppositions of Mars is from the following: the planet has an approximate 15.8-year periodic opposition cycle, which consists of three or four Aphelic oppositions and three consecutive Perihelic oppositions. Perihelic oppositions are also called "favorable" because the Earth and Mars come closest to each other on those occasions. We sometimes refer to this as the seven Martian synodic periods. This cycle is repeated every 79 years (± 4 to 5 days) and, if one were to live long enough, one would see this cycle nearly replicated in approximately 284 years. The 2014 Mars apparition is considered Aphelic because the orbital longitude at opposition will be only 44° from the aphelion longitude of 70° Ls.

NOTE: Ls is the planetocentric longitude of the Sun along the ecliptic of Mars' sky. 0° Ls is defined as that point where the Sun crosses the Martian celestial equator from south to north, that is the planet's northern hemisphere vernal equinox. The other Ls values that define the beginnings of Martian northern hemisphere seasons are: summer, 90° Ls; autumn, 180° Ls; and winter, 270° Ls. For Mars' southern hemisphere these values represent the opposite seasons. Distance (A.U.) - Distance from Earth to Mars in astronomical units, where one (1) A.U. equals 92,955,621 miles or 149,597,870 km.

Closest approach occurs at 1254 UT on April 14, 2014 (116.4° Ls) with an apparent planetary disk diameter of 15.2'' at a distance of 0.6175118 astronomical units (AU) or 57,401,194 miles (92,378,452 km).  During closest approach in 2014 the apparent diameter of Mars will be more than 1.3 arcsec larger than it was at the same period in 2012;  however, it will be nearly 15 degrees lower in the sky – not quite as good for observing the Red Planet. [NOTE: one (1) A.U. equals 92,955,621 miles or 149,597,870 km]. It should also be noted that closest approach between Earth and Mars is not necessarily coincident with the time of opposition but varies by as much as two weeks.

Figure 3. A simulated view of the appearance of Mars during opposition at 2057 UT on April 08, 2014 (113.7° Ls)

The observable disk diameter of Mars will be greater than 6 arcsec from December 12, 2013 [0.1° d] (61.5° Ls) and will not fall below this value until October 06, 2014 (208.9° Ls), lasting 13 months or 208 degrees Ls.  Imaging by CCD devices may begin with a disk diameter of 4 arcsec or less, commencing on August 19, 2013.
 

The Sub-Earth (De) and Sub-Solar (Ds) points are graphically represented in Figures 4 and 5. The 2013 and 2014 Ephemeris of Mars is tabulated on Internet in this web site.  A glossary of Terms appears at the end of this table.

Figure 4. As it approaches Earth, it will swell from a small apparent disk of 6" in December 12, 2013 to a maximum diameter on April 14, 2014, and then shrink as it moves away.  Closest approach occurs on April 14, 2014 (Opposition April 08, 2014).  From January 2014 through September 2014 are the prime observing months. Images shown at 0h UT.

Figure 5. Graphic Ephemeris of Mars during the 2013-2014 apparition from December 12, 2013 through October 06, 2014.   Opposition and 6 arcsec apparent diameter range arc indicated.  Plot illustrates the Declination (black line),   the latitude of the Sub-Earth point (De) or the apparent tilt (brown line) in areocentric degrees, and the latitude of the Sub-Solar point (green line) in areocentric degrees.  The areocentric longitude (Ls) of the Sun, shown along the bottom edge of the graph defines the Martian seasonal date.  The value of Ls is 0° at the vernal equinox of the northern hemisphere, 70° when Mars is at aphelion, and 90° at the summer solstice of the northern hemisphere 250° when Mars is at perihelion, and 180° is northern autumn.

Figure 6. Graphic Ephemeris of Mars from December 12, 2013 through October 06, 2014.  Plot illustrates the apparent diameter of Mars in seconds of arc.  The areocentric longitude (Ls) of the Sun, shown along the bottom  edge of the graph defines the Martian seasonal date.

Astronomers will have an excellent view of the prominent north polar cap during most of the 2014 apparition because it will be tilted earthward during the last half of 2013 and through mid-October 2014 when it reaches 0° De. On July 26, 2011 the Martian North Polar Region (NPR) will begin to tilt towards the Earth and will remain so for the remainder of the apparition.  By the second week in September 2013 (20° Ls), the NPC should be free of its hood completely sunlit; however, Mars will be too small to begin micrometer measurements until mid-December. For more detailed information on the north polar cap click to this web site.

Observations of Mars indicate that dust storms occur around the time of northern summer solstice (90° - 105° Ls). However, accurate predictions are nearly impossible to make because of the complexities and unknown variables. When a great dust storm reaches maturity, Mars' disk appears bright orange and Mars' surface features are obscured. For more detailed information on Martian dust storms on this web site.