Technology
How to see Mars with the naked eye in March – and spot Orion’s Belt nearby too
YOU can try and spot Mars in the night sky this month.
The Red Planet will be shining like a pinkish star a few hours after sunset.
Mars will be visible in the night sky this week[/caption]
Budding stargazers will need to look west and to the right of the Taurus constellation.
Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has recommended looking around March 8.
Once you locate Mars, try looking up and to the left and you should see the three stars that make up Orion’s belt.
If there happens to be cloudy skies on March 8, it won’t make too much difference to look another night.
The three stars that make up Orion’s belt can be seen to the left of the shooting star in this image[/caption]
Once you spot the Red Planet you’ll be able to imagine Nasa’s Perseverance rover that’s currently searching for life on its surface.
Sometimes smartphones can be useful to point out the location of constellations and planets in the night sky.
You can try downloading one of these apps to point yourself in the right direction.
Make sure you give your eyes a break from your phone afterwards though, stargazing is best when your eyes have adjusted to the dark.
Stargazing apps for Android and iPhone include: SkyView Lite, Star Tracker and Star Walk 2.
Some apps are free but a lot of them charge so it depends if you want to put up with adverts or not.
It’s advisable to read the reviews of an app and look at how many people have rated it before downloading.
Perseverance – What’s on board?
Perseverance boasts a total of 19 cameras and two microphones, and carries seven scientific instruments.
- Planetary Instrument for X-Ray Lithochemistry (PIXL)
An X-ray “ray gun” that will help scientists investigate the composition of Martian rock.
2. Radar Imager for Mars’ subsurface experiment (RIMFAX)
A ground-penetrating radar that will image buried rocks, meteorites, and even possible underground water sources up to a depth of 10 metres (33ft).
3. Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA)
A bunch of sensors that will take readings of temperature, wind speed and direction, pressure, and other atmospheric conditions.
4. Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE)
An experiment that will convert Martian carbon dioxide into oxygen. A scaled-up version could be used in future to provide Martian colonists with breathable air.
5. SuperCam
A suite of instruments for measuring the makeup of rocks and regolith at a distance
6. Mastcam-Z
A camera system capable of taking “3D” images by combining two or more photos into one.
7. Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC)
From Baker Street to Mars: Sherloc contains an ultraviolet laser that will investigate Martian rock for organic compounds.
Most read in Science
In other space news, a giant asteroid nicknamed the God of Chaos will rip past Earth during a close flyby of our planet this week.
A stunning image showing ultra-rare lightning has been revealed by astronomy researchers.
And, Nasa announced that it is accepting applications for wannabe space explorers who wish to fire their name to the Red Planet.
Will you be stargazing this month? Let us know in the comments…
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