Martian Calendar Based on Formula by RobertDyck

[tahanson43206]

206,826,707 km [26.5 km/s]
Place holder for today's Calendar update

[tahanson43206]

206,801,817 km [26.5 km/s]
Place holder for today's Calendar update

[tahanson43206]

===
Today on Mars: 0037/18/21 Saturday Days of the week offset 0 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth (updated 2024/05/08))

Today on Earth: 2024/05/18 Saturday (Earth Date) Post Title: Today on Mars [Aphelion occurred May 30, 2023 Earth Calendar]
====*=

Per http://www-mars.lmd.jussieu.fr/mars/tim ... _time.html also see: in-the-sky.org for opposition/perigee/aphelion

Martian Year: 37 Martian Astronomical Month in 12 month format: 9 <<== The Astronomical month will increment when longitude reaches 270 degrees

===
Solar Longitude: 257.1 Sol Number: 495 Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0037495
Solar Longitude: 256.5 Sol Number: 494 Change in degrees is +.7 Julian date is: J0037494
Solar Longitude: 255.8 Sol Number: 493 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0037493
<<#

Note that Solar Longitude measurement varies as a function of location in orbit. Ls 0 is the moment when the Sun appears to transit from one hemisphere to the other. Update from Mars.NASA.gov (The Sun crosses the equator of Mars (Vernal Equinox)). The transition itself is a function of the tilt of an object with respect to the Solar plane. Per squarewidget.com, Hipparchus created the celestial coordinate system we use today.

Note#2: https://theskylive.com/mars-tracker This web site shows the astronomical position of Mars as seen from Earth
Todo: At next Aphelion/Perihelion record the Mars data J00##### (and set Search term)
Perihelion occurred at Ls 251 on Sol 485 – Earth Date 2024/05/08 Next: (estimated) 2026/03/06
Perihelion occurred at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2022/06/21 Next: (actual) 2024/05/08
Aphelion occurred at--- Ls 071 on Sol 152. Aphelion Earth Dates: Earlier: 2017/10/07, 2015/11/20
Aphelion occurred near Ls 070 on Sol 153 (per www.planetary.org)

Note#3: The computations below are dependent upon both the computations provided by the reference web site and by accuracy of recording of the time of observations. The calculations use tenths of hours. The Sun Distance needs to be captured at the moment the time increments to a given tenth.

Note on data below: The figure quoted after distance is a rate of progress along the orbital path [exact meaning to be determined]
Minus prefix means Mars is approaching the Sun. Plus prefix means Mars is moving away from the Sun.
The figure computed to the right of "Difference" is the rate of change of the distance to Sun. Increasing to Aphelion/Decreasing to Perihelion.

===
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 206,779,104 km [26.5 km/s] Difference is +20616 <= +0859 km/hour at 08.0 on 05/18 (time 8:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 206,758,488 km [26.5 km/s] Difference is +18452 <= +0769 km/hour at 08.0 on 05/17 (time 8:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 206,740,036 km [26.5 km/s] Difference is +16294 <= +0679 km/hour at 08.0 on 05/16 (time 8:00) (24.0 hours)
==*==*==*

Observation: The sky view is ** filled ** with objects and some have been recorded and given identification by humans or their robot assistants
And! ** All ** the location assignments are from the perspective of Earth. The entire catalog needs to be adjusted when inter-stellar travel begins
The work that lies ahead for the astronomical community is daunting - there is work ahead for centuries
2022/01/19 - All current (existing) stellar catalogs are computed with reference to the Earth. Another civilization would use it's planet as reference.
Perhaps a Milky Way frame of reference will become necessary at some point. The Earth is as good a Zero point as any, for humans.

=== Mars is in Regular Movement as seen from Earth. Mars is progressing from lower right to upper left in the view from Earth. Slant 20 degrees.
Next up: No labeled objects are available. Asterism: row of stars across path: RA 00h 53m 03.7s – Day 0 -
TYC 14-928-1 RA 00h 49m 57.7s – Day 0 – Day 1 At lower right corner and already out of default view
====*====*>>>

Zoom Out Capability As a general observation ... I've become increasingly interested in knowing what the larger view of the sky might be like.
The site: theskylive.com does a terrific job of matching the view from Earth towards Mars, against a background of actual astronomical plates.
I wish there were a way (or rather, I wish I ** knew ** about a way that may exist) to enlarge the view until the entire galaxy is in view (Zoom out)
Update 2022/12/08 TheSkyLive.com provides a large view of selected objects: Select [Major Bodies] Then select [Information] in the body of interest
Update 2022/12/08 Scroll down to (body) Position and Finder Charts. Field of view is 50x30 degrees.

Note: The curve of the path of Mars as seen against the background of stars is now a line heading left at a downward angle.
As of 2023/01/11, the curve of the path has returned to regular movement to the left border

Light travel time today is between 15 and 16 minutes. Communications delay would be 30+ minutes round trip.

===
Earth Distance 2024/05/18 285,788,000 (decreasing)
Earth Distance 2024/05/17 286,356,000 (decreasing)
Earth Distance 2024/05/16 286,913,000 (decreasing)
#>

Light travel in one second is (about) 300,000 kilometers. The distance covered in one minute is about 18,000,000 kilometers. Estimated light times:
1:18, 2:36, 3:54, 4:72, 5:90, 6:108, 7:126, 8:144,9:162,10:180,11:198,12:216,13:234,14:252,15:270,16:288,17:306,18:324,19:342,20:360,21:378,22:396

Maximum Earth-Mars distance is estimated to be 401 million kilometers (both at apogee and opposite vs Sun)
Mars and Earth were in Opposition (Earth center) in December of 2022. The date coincided with a (very rare) occultation of Mars by the Moon.
Mars and Earth were in Conjunction (Sun center) in November of 2023.
Mars and Earth appear to have been as close as they will get in this cycle. 81,454,323 kilometers on J0036644 Time: 4.53 minutes - 9 minutes round trip

In his online interview with Dr. Zubrin at the 2020 Mars Conference, Elon Musk reminded the audience that communications with Mars will necessarily include an intermediary station to handle traffic when the Sun is between Mars and Earth. Communications delays in that circumstance will increase due to the extra distance to be covered. Mr. Musk indicated he expects such communication will be handled by laser. Location would be optimum at poles of solar plane.

Regular movement of Mars as seen from Earth resumed as of 2023/01/13. RA is once again increasing.
According to www.hercampus.com, Retrograde movement began October 30, 2022.
The online solar system display at the link below shows clearly how the Mars movement will occur in months ahead.

This web site offers an online model of the solar system: www.solarsystemscope.com It requires Chrome 57, Firefox 52 or Safari 10.1. Viewed 2022/10/13: Opposition will occur some time in December of 2022. Per earthsky.org, the date is December 8, 2022.

This web site offers an online orrery view of the Solar System: https://www.theplanetstoday.com/

===
Sol 495 is in Month 18 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary.
Month 18 extends from Sol 475 through 501. <<== There are 27 days in Month 18. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php ... 57#p154257
Sol 495 is Saturday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 485 was a Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 522 June 13th
##

The Next New Year's on Mars will occur when Solar Longitude reaches 360 degrees. <<== The current year on Mars is 37
Per www.planetary.org Year 36 started 2021/02/07 on Earth. Mars Year 37 began 2022/12/27 on Earth.

Days of the Week Alignment:
Days of the week fall behind Earth due to the longer Sol, but they also change when Friday is omitted at the end of a Quarter
337 Earth days were observed to elapse in the 2020 weekday cycle. There were 7 week day transitions and 2 Quarter ends.
The next cycle began on the first Sol of the period of coincidence. The alignment of weekdays interval is in the range: (310 - 337)
To find the first day of a period of coincidence: Set up: SearchTerm(colon) and (colon)Alignment and J0036* or J0037*
The most recent End-Of-Quarter change occurred: … The search specified above gave 11 pages of results.

For current weather on Mars see:

***https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/weather/***
***Insight's weather info has been suspended and now is directing to msl*** <<-- Insight's mission is over (2022)

https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/weather/

Per SpaceNut: Here is another web page by NASA containing the latest news releases

https://mars.nasa.gov/news/?page=0&per_ ... ope=Latest

All forum members are invited to post significant events for this day.
Events of interest will be ON Mars, or relate to Mars. Examples are launches, landings, discoveries

Standard Month in Mars Business Calendar Copyright ® 2023 NewMars.com Mars Society
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Recruiting text may be found at the bottom of this post: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php ... 57#p154257

Month 18 of 24: Last month of Quarter 3 << There are 27 days in Month 18 <<== Proposed name: Perihelion

[tahanson43206]

===
Today on Mars: 0037/18/20 Friday Days of the week offset 0 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth (updated 2024/05/08))

Today on Earth: 2024/05/17 Friday (Earth Date) Post Title: Today on Mars [Aphelion occurred May 30, 2023 Earth Calendar]
====*=

Per http://www-mars.lmd.jussieu.fr/mars/tim ... _time.html also see: in-the-sky.org for opposition/perigee/aphelion

Martian Year: 37 Martian Astronomical Month in 12 month format: 9 <<== The Astronomical month will increment when longitude reaches 270 degrees

===
Solar Longitude: 256.5 Sol Number: 494 Change in degrees is +.7 Julian date is: J0037494
Solar Longitude: 255.8 Sol Number: 493 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0037493
Solar Longitude: 255.2 Sol Number: 492 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0037492
<<#

Note that Solar Longitude measurement varies as a function of location in orbit. Ls 0 is the moment when the Sun appears to transit from one hemisphere to the other. Update from Mars.NASA.gov (The Sun crosses the equator of Mars (Vernal Equinox)). The transition itself is a function of the tilt of an object with respect to the Solar plane. Per squarewidget.com, Hipparchus created the celestial coordinate system we use today.

Note#2: https://theskylive.com/mars-tracker This web site shows the astronomical position of Mars as seen from Earth
Todo: At next Aphelion/Perihelion record the Mars data J00##### (and set Search term)
Perihelion occurred at Ls 251 on Sol 485 – Earth Date 2024/05/08 Next: (estimated) 2026/03/06
Perihelion occurred at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2022/06/21 Next: (actual) 2024/05/08
Aphelion occurred at--- Ls 071 on Sol 152. Aphelion Earth Dates: Earlier: 2017/10/07, 2015/11/20
Aphelion occurred near Ls 070 on Sol 153 (per www.planetary.org)

Note#3: The computations below are dependent upon both the computations provided by the reference web site and by accuracy of recording of the time of observations. The calculations use tenths of hours. The Sun Distance needs to be captured at the moment the time increments to a given tenth.

Note on data below: The figure quoted after distance is a rate of progress along the orbital path [exact meaning to be determined]
Minus prefix means Mars is approaching the Sun. Plus prefix means Mars is moving away from the Sun.
The figure computed to the right of "Difference" is the rate of change of the distance to Sun. Increasing to Aphelion/Decreasing to Perihelion.

===
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 206,758,488 km [26.5 km/s] Difference is +18452 <= +0769 km/hour at 08.0 on 05/17 (time 8:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 206,740,036 km [26.5 km/s] Difference is +16294 <= +0679 km/hour at 08.0 on 05/16 (time 8:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 206,723,742 km [26.5 km/s] Difference is +14128 <= +0589 km/hour at 08.0 on 05/15 (time 8:00) (24.0 hours)
==*==*==*

Observation: The sky view is ** filled ** with objects and some have been recorded and given identification by humans or their robot assistants
And! ** All ** the location assignments are from the perspective of Earth. The entire catalog needs to be adjusted when inter-stellar travel begins
The work that lies ahead for the astronomical community is daunting - there is work ahead for centuries
2022/01/19 - All current (existing) stellar catalogs are computed with reference to the Earth. Another civilization would use it's planet as reference.
Perhaps a Milky Way frame of reference will become necessary at some point. The Earth is as good a Zero point as any, for humans.

=== Mars is in Regular Movement as seen from Earth. Mars is progressing from lower right to upper left in the view from Earth. Slant 20 degrees.
Next up: Star below path at far left: TYC 14-928-1 RA 00h 49m 57.7s – Day 0 -
HIP 3618 Star TYC 14-938-1 – day 1 – past 9 hour marker – last hours for 938
HIP 3618 RA 00h 46m 24.3s – Day 1 at far right of view – last hours for 3618
====*====*>>>

Zoom Out Capability As a general observation ... I've become increasingly interested in knowing what the larger view of the sky might be like.
The site: theskylive.com does a terrific job of matching the view from Earth towards Mars, against a background of actual astronomical plates.
I wish there were a way (or rather, I wish I ** knew ** about a way that may exist) to enlarge the view until the entire galaxy is in view (Zoom out)
Update 2022/12/08 TheSkyLive.com provides a large view of selected objects: Select [Major Bodies] Then select [Information] in the body of interest
Update 2022/12/08 Scroll down to (body) Position and Finder Charts. Field of view is 50x30 degrees.

Note: The curve of the path of Mars as seen against the background of stars is now a line heading left at a downward angle.
As of 2023/01/11, the curve of the path has returned to regular movement to the left border

Light travel time today is between 15 and 16 minutes. Communications delay would be 30+ minutes round trip.

===
Earth Distance 2024/05/17 286,356,000 (decreasing)
Earth Distance 2024/05/16 286,913,000 (decreasing)
Earth Distance 2024/05/15 287,486,000 (decreasing)
#>

Light travel in one second is (about) 300,000 kilometers. The distance covered in one minute is about 18,000,000 kilometers. Estimated light times:
1:18, 2:36, 3:54, 4:72, 5:90, 6:108, 7:126, 8:144,9:162,10:180,11:198,12:216,13:234,14:252,15:270,16:288,17:306,18:324,19:342,20:360,21:378,22:396

Maximum Earth-Mars distance is estimated to be 401 million kilometers (both at apogee and opposite vs Sun)
Mars and Earth were in Opposition (Earth center) in December of 2022. The date coincided with a (very rare) occultation of Mars by the Moon.
Mars and Earth were in Conjunction (Sun center) in November of 2023.
Mars and Earth appear to have been as close as they will get in this cycle. 81,454,323 kilometers on J0036644 Time: 4.53 minutes - 9 minutes round trip

In his online interview with Dr. Zubrin at the 2020 Mars Conference, Elon Musk reminded the audience that communications with Mars will necessarily include an intermediary station to handle traffic when the Sun is between Mars and Earth. Communications delays in that circumstance will increase due to the extra distance to be covered. Mr. Musk indicated he expects such communication will be handled by laser. Location would be optimum at poles of solar plane.

Regular movement of Mars as seen from Earth resumed as of 2023/01/13. RA is once again increasing.
According to www.hercampus.com, Retrograde movement began October 30, 2022.
The online solar system display at the link below shows clearly how the Mars movement will occur in months ahead.

This web site offers an online model of the solar system: www.solarsystemscope.com It requires Chrome 57, Firefox 52 or Safari 10.1. Viewed 2022/10/13: Opposition will occur some time in December of 2022. Per earthsky.org, the date is December 8, 2022.

This web site offers an online orrery view of the Solar System: https://www.theplanetstoday.com/

===
Sol 494 is in Month 18 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary.
Month 18 extends from Sol 475 through 501. <<== There are 27 days in Month 18. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php ... 57#p154257
Sol 494 is Friday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 485 was a Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 522 June 13th
##

The Next New Year's on Mars will occur when Solar Longitude reaches 360 degrees. <<== The current year on Mars is 37
Per www.planetary.org Year 36 started 2021/02/07 on Earth. Mars Year 37 began 2022/12/27 on Earth.

Days of the Week Alignment:
Days of the week fall behind Earth due to the longer Sol, but they also change when Friday is omitted at the end of a Quarter
337 Earth days were observed to elapse in the 2020 weekday cycle. There were 7 week day transitions and 2 Quarter ends.
The next cycle began on the first Sol of the period of coincidence. The alignment of weekdays interval is in the range: (310 - 337)
To find the first day of a period of coincidence: Set up: SearchTerm(colon) and (colon)Alignment and J0036* or J0037*
The most recent End-Of-Quarter change occurred: … The search specified above gave 11 pages of results.

For current weather on Mars see:

***https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/weather/***
***Insight's weather info has been suspended and now is directing to msl*** <<-- Insight's mission is over (2022)

https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/weather/

Per SpaceNut: Here is another web page by NASA containing the latest news releases

https://mars.nasa.gov/news/?page=0&per_ ... ope=Latest

All forum members are invited to post significant events for this day.
Events of interest will be ON Mars, or relate to Mars. Examples are launches, landings, discoveries

Standard Month in Mars Business Calendar Copyright ® 2023 NewMars.com Mars Society
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Recruiting text may be found at the bottom of this post: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php ... 57#p154257

Month 18 of 24: Last month of Quarter 3 << There are 27 days in Month 18 <<== Proposed name: Perihelion

[tahanson43206]

===
Today on Mars: 0037/18/19 Thursday Days of the week offset 0 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth (updated 2024/05/08))

Today on Earth: 2024/05/16 Thursday (Earth Date) Post Title: Today on Mars [Aphelion occurred May 30, 2023 Earth Calendar]
====*=

Per http://www-mars.lmd.jussieu.fr/mars/tim ... _time.html also see: in-the-sky.org for opposition/perigee/aphelion

Martian Year: 37 Martian Astronomical Month in 12 month format: 9 <<== The Astronomical month will increment when longitude reaches 270 degrees

===
Solar Longitude: 255.8 Sol Number: 493 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0037493
Solar Longitude: 255.2 Sol Number: 492 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0037492
Solar Longitude: 254.6 Sol Number: 491 Change in degrees is +.7 Julian date is: J0037491
<<#

Note that Solar Longitude measurement varies as a function of location in orbit. Ls 0 is the moment when the Sun appears to transit from one hemisphere to the other. Update from Mars.NASA.gov (The Sun crosses the equator of Mars (Vernal Equinox)). The transition itself is a function of the tilt of an object with respect to the Solar plane. Per squarewidget.com, Hipparchus created the celestial coordinate system we use today.

Note#2: https://theskylive.com/mars-tracker This web site shows the astronomical position of Mars as seen from Earth
Todo: At next Aphelion/Perihelion record the Mars data J00##### (and set Search term)
Perihelion occurred at Ls 251 on Sol 485 – Earth Date 2024/05/08 Next: (estimated) 2026/03/06
Perihelion occurred at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2022/06/21 Next: (actual) 2024/05/08
Aphelion occurred at--- Ls 071 on Sol 152. Aphelion Earth Dates: Earlier: 2017/10/07, 2015/11/20
Aphelion occurred near Ls 070 on Sol 153 (per www.planetary.org)

Note#3: The computations below are dependent upon both the computations provided by the reference web site and by accuracy of recording of the time of observations. The calculations use tenths of hours. The Sun Distance needs to be captured at the moment the time increments to a given tenth.

Note on data below: The figure quoted after distance is a rate of progress along the orbital path [exact meaning to be determined]
Minus prefix means Mars is approaching the Sun. Plus prefix means Mars is moving away from the Sun.
The figure computed to the right of "Difference" is the rate of change of the distance to Sun. Increasing to Aphelion/Decreasing to Perihelion.

===
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 206,740,036 km [26.5 km/s] Difference is +16294 <= +0679 km/hour at 08.0 on 05/16 (time 8:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 206,723,742 km [26.5 km/s] Difference is +14128 <= +0589 km/hour at 08.0 on 05/15 (time 8:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 206,709,614 km [26.5 km/s] Difference is +11960 <= +0498 km/hour at 08.0 on 05/14 (time 8:00) (24.0 hours)
==*==*==*

Observation: The sky view is ** filled ** with objects and some have been recorded and given identification by humans or their robot assistants
And! ** All ** the location assignments are from the perspective of Earth. The entire catalog needs to be adjusted when inter-stellar travel begins
The work that lies ahead for the astronomical community is daunting - there is work ahead for centuries
2022/01/19 - All current (existing) stellar catalogs are computed with reference to the Earth. Another civilization would use it's planet as reference.
Perhaps a Milky Way frame of reference will become necessary at some point. The Earth is as good a Zero point as any, for humans.

=== Mars is in Regular Movement as seen from Earth. Mars is progressing from lower right to upper left in the view from Earth. Slant 20 degrees.
Next up: Above path and ahead of HIP 3618 Star TYC 14-938-1 – day 1 -
Next up: Micro-Boomer above 9 hour marker: HIP 3618 RA 00h 46m 24.3s – Day 1
PGC 1250764 RA 00h 44m 2.5s – Day 0 – Day 1 – in lower right corner … last moments for 764
====*====*>>>

Zoom Out Capability As a general observation ... I've become increasingly interested in knowing what the larger view of the sky might be like.
The site: theskylive.com does a terrific job of matching the view from Earth towards Mars, against a background of actual astronomical plates.
I wish there were a way (or rather, I wish I ** knew ** about a way that may exist) to enlarge the view until the entire galaxy is in view (Zoom out)
Update 2022/12/08 TheSkyLive.com provides a large view of selected objects: Select [Major Bodies] Then select [Information] in the body of interest
Update 2022/12/08 Scroll down to (body) Position and Finder Charts. Field of view is 50x30 degrees.

Note: The curve of the path of Mars as seen against the background of stars is now a line heading left at a downward angle.
As of 2023/01/11, the curve of the path has returned to regular movement to the left border

Light travel time today is between 15 and 16 minutes. Communications delay would be 30+ minutes round trip.

===
Earth Distance 2024/05/16 286,913,000 (decreasing)
Earth Distance 2024/05/15 287,486,000 (decreasing)
Earth Distance 2024/05/14 288,024,000 (decreasing)
#>

Light travel in one second is (about) 300,000 kilometers. The distance covered in one minute is about 18,000,000 kilometers. Estimated light times:
1:18, 2:36, 3:54, 4:72, 5:90, 6:108, 7:126, 8:144,9:162,10:180,11:198,12:216,13:234,14:252,15:270,16:288,17:306,18:324,19:342,20:360,21:378,22:396

Maximum Earth-Mars distance is estimated to be 401 million kilometers (both at apogee and opposite vs Sun)
Mars and Earth were in Opposition (Earth center) in December of 2022. The date coincided with a (very rare) occultation of Mars by the Moon.
Mars and Earth were in Conjunction (Sun center) in November of 2023.
Mars and Earth appear to have been as close as they will get in this cycle. 81,454,323 kilometers on J0036644 Time: 4.53 minutes - 9 minutes round trip

In his online interview with Dr. Zubrin at the 2020 Mars Conference, Elon Musk reminded the audience that communications with Mars will necessarily include an intermediary station to handle traffic when the Sun is between Mars and Earth. Communications delays in that circumstance will increase due to the extra distance to be covered. Mr. Musk indicated he expects such communication will be handled by laser. Location would be optimum at poles of solar plane.

Regular movement of Mars as seen from Earth resumed as of 2023/01/13. RA is once again increasing.
According to www.hercampus.com, Retrograde movement began October 30, 2022.
The online solar system display at the link below shows clearly how the Mars movement will occur in months ahead.

This web site offers an online model of the solar system: www.solarsystemscope.com It requires Chrome 57, Firefox 52 or Safari 10.1. Viewed 2022/10/13: Opposition will occur some time in December of 2022. Per earthsky.org, the date is December 8, 2022.

This web site offers an online orrery view of the Solar System: https://www.theplanetstoday.com/

===
Sol 493 is in Month 18 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary.
Month 18 extends from Sol 475 through 501. <<== There are 27 days in Month 18. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php ... 57#p154257
Sol 493 is Thursday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 485 was a Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 522 June 13th
##

The Next New Year's on Mars will occur when Solar Longitude reaches 360 degrees. <<== The current year on Mars is 37
Per www.planetary.org Year 36 started 2021/02/07 on Earth. Mars Year 37 began 2022/12/27 on Earth.

Days of the Week Alignment:
Days of the week fall behind Earth due to the longer Sol, but they also change when Friday is omitted at the end of a Quarter
337 Earth days were observed to elapse in the 2020 weekday cycle. There were 7 week day transitions and 2 Quarter ends.
The next cycle began on the first Sol of the period of coincidence. The alignment of weekdays interval is in the range: (310 - 337)
To find the first day of a period of coincidence: Set up: SearchTerm(colon) and (colon)Alignment and J0036* or J0037*
The most recent End-Of-Quarter change occurred: … The search specified above gave 11 pages of results.

For current weather on Mars see:

***https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/weather/***
***Insight's weather info has been suspended and now is directing to msl*** <<-- Insight's mission is over (2022)

https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/weather/

Per SpaceNut: Here is another web page by NASA containing the latest news releases

https://mars.nasa.gov/news/?page=0&per_ ... ope=Latest

All forum members are invited to post significant events for this day.
Events of interest will be ON Mars, or relate to Mars. Examples are launches, landings, discoveries

Standard Month in Mars Business Calendar Copyright ® 2023 NewMars.com Mars Society
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Recruiting text may be found at the bottom of this post: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php ... 57#p154257

Month 18 of 24: Last month of Quarter 3 << There are 27 days in Month 18 <<== Proposed name: Perihelion

[tahanson43206]

===
Today on Mars: 0037/18/18 Wednesday Days of the week offset 0 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth (updated 2024/05/08))

Today on Earth: 2024/05/15 Wednesday (Earth Date) Post Title: Today on Mars [Aphelion occurred May 30, 2023 Earth Calendar]
====*=


Per http://www-mars.lmd.jussieu.fr/mars/tim ... _time.html also see: in-the-sky.org for opposition/perigee/aphelion

Martian Year: 37 Martian Astronomical Month in 12 month format: 9 <<== The Astronomical month will increment when longitude reaches 270 degrees

===
Solar Longitude: 255.2 Sol Number: 492 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0037492
Solar Longitude: 254.6 Sol Number: 491 Change in degrees is +.7 Julian date is: J0037491
Solar Longitude: 253.9 Sol Number: 490 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0037490
<<#

Note that Solar Longitude measurement varies as a function of location in orbit. Ls 0 is the moment when the Sun appears to transit from one hemisphere to the other. Update from Mars.NASA.gov (The Sun crosses the equator of Mars (Vernal Equinox)). The transition itself is a function of the tilt of an object with respect to the Solar plane. Per squarewidget.com, Hipparchus created the celestial coordinate system we use today.

Note#2: https://theskylive.com/mars-tracker This web site shows the astronomical position of Mars as seen from Earth
Todo: At next Aphelion/Perihelion record the Mars data J00##### (and set Search term)
Perihelion occurred at Ls 251 on Sol 485 – Earth Date 2024/05/08 Next: (estimated) 2026/03/06
Perihelion occurred at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2022/06/21 Next: (actual) 2024/05/08
Aphelion occurred at--- Ls 071 on Sol 152. Aphelion Earth Dates: Earlier: 2017/10/07, 2015/11/20
Aphelion occurred near Ls 070 on Sol 153 (per www.planetary.org)

Note#3: The computations below are dependent upon both the computations provided by the reference web site and by accuracy of recording of the time of observations. The calculations use tenths of hours. The Sun Distance needs to be captured at the moment the time increments to a given tenth.

Note on data below: The figure quoted after distance is a rate of progress along the orbital path [exact meaning to be determined]
Minus prefix means Mars is approaching the Sun. Plus prefix means Mars is moving away from the Sun.
The figure computed to the right of "Difference" is the rate of change of the distance to Sun. Increasing to Aphelion/Decreasing to Perihelion.

===
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 206,723,742 km [26.5 km/s] Difference is +14128 <= +0589 km/hour at 08.0 on 05/15 (time 8:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 206,709,614 km [26.5 km/s] Difference is +11960 <= +0498 km/hour at 08.0 on 05/14 (time 8:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 206,697,654 km [26.5 km/s] Difference is +09846 <= +0410 km/hour at 08.0 on 05/13 (time 8:00) (24.0 hours)
==*==*==*

Observation: The sky view is ** filled ** with objects and some have been recorded and given identification by humans or their robot assistants
And! ** All ** the location assignments are from the perspective of Earth. The entire catalog needs to be adjusted when inter-stellar travel begins
The work that lies ahead for the astronomical community is daunting - there is work ahead for centuries
2022/01/19 - All current (existing) stellar catalogs are computed with reference to the Earth. Another civilization would use it's planet as reference.
Perhaps a Milky Way frame of reference will become necessary at some point. The Earth is as good a Zero point as any, for humans.

=== Mars is in Regular Movement as seen from Earth. Mars is progressing from lower right to upper left in the view from Earth. Slant 20 degrees.
Next up: Galaxy just below path and ahead of 9 hour marker: PGC 1250764 RA 00h 44m 2.5s – Day 0 -
PGC 1246239 RA 00h 41m 46.3s – Day 0 – Day 1 right at 9 hours past marker … last day for 239
====*====*>>>

Zoom Out Capability As a general observation ... I've become increasingly interested in knowing what the larger view of the sky might be like.
The site: theskylive.com does a terrific job of matching the view from Earth towards Mars, against a background of actual astronomical plates.
I wish there were a way (or rather, I wish I ** knew ** about a way that may exist) to enlarge the view until the entire galaxy is in view (Zoom out)
Update 2022/12/08 TheSkyLive.com provides a large view of selected objects: Select [Major Bodies] Then select [Information] in the body of interest
Update 2022/12/08 Scroll down to (body) Position and Finder Charts. Field of view is 50x30 degrees.

Note: The curve of the path of Mars as seen against the background of stars is now a line heading left at a downward angle.
As of 2023/01/11, the curve of the path has returned to regular movement to the left border

Light travel time today is between 15 and 16 minutes. Communications delay would be 30+ minutes round trip.

===
Earth Distance 2024/05/15 287,486,000 (decreasing)
Earth Distance 2024/05/14 288,024,000 (decreasing)
Earth Distance 2024/05/13 288,525,000 (decreasing)
#>

Light travel in one second is (about) 300,000 kilometers. The distance covered in one minute is about 18,000,000 kilometers. Estimated light times:
1:18, 2:36, 3:54, 4:72, 5:90, 6:108, 7:126, 8:144,9:162,10:180,11:198,12:216,13:234,14:252,15:270,16:288,17:306,18:324,19:342,20:360,21:378,22:396

Maximum Earth-Mars distance is estimated to be 401 million kilometers (both at apogee and opposite vs Sun)
Mars and Earth were in Opposition (Earth center) in December of 2022. The date coincided with a (very rare) occultation of Mars by the Moon.
Mars and Earth were in Conjunction (Sun center) in November of 2023.
Mars and Earth appear to have been as close as they will get in this cycle. 81,454,323 kilometers on J0036644 Time: 4.53 minutes - 9 minutes round trip

In his online interview with Dr. Zubrin at the 2020 Mars Conference, Elon Musk reminded the audience that communications with Mars will necessarily include an intermediary station to handle traffic when the Sun is between Mars and Earth. Communications delays in that circumstance will increase due to the extra distance to be covered. Mr. Musk indicated he expects such communication will be handled by laser. Location would be optimum at poles of solar plane.

Regular movement of Mars as seen from Earth resumed as of 2023/01/13. RA is once again increasing.
According to www.hercampus.com, Retrograde movement began October 30, 2022.
The online solar system display at the link below shows clearly how the Mars movement will occur in months ahead.

This web site offers an online model of the solar system: www.solarsystemscope.com It requires Chrome 57, Firefox 52 or Safari 10.1. Viewed 2022/10/13: Opposition will occur some time in December of 2022. Per earthsky.org, the date is December 8, 2022.

This web site offers an online orrery view of the Solar System: https://www.theplanetstoday.com/

===
Sol 492 is in Month 18 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary.
Month 18 extends from Sol 475 through 501. <<== There are 27 days in Month 18. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php ... 57#p154257
Sol 492 is Wednesday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 485 was a Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 522 June 13th
##

The Next New Year's on Mars will occur when Solar Longitude reaches 360 degrees. <<== The current year on Mars is 37
Per www.planetary.org Year 36 started 2021/02/07 on Earth. Mars Year 37 began 2022/12/27 on Earth.

Days of the Week Alignment:
Days of the week fall behind Earth due to the longer Sol, but they also change when Friday is omitted at the end of a Quarter
337 Earth days were observed to elapse in the 2020 weekday cycle. There were 7 week day transitions and 2 Quarter ends.
The next cycle began on the first Sol of the period of coincidence. The alignment of weekdays interval is in the range: (310 - 337)
To find the first day of a period of coincidence: Set up: SearchTerm(colon) and (colon)Alignment and J0036* or J0037*
The most recent End-Of-Quarter change occurred: … The search specified above gave 11 pages of results.

For current weather on Mars see:

***https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/weather/***
***Insight's weather info has been suspended and now is directing to msl*** <<-- Insight's mission is over (2022)

https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/weather/

Per SpaceNut: Here is another web page by NASA containing the latest news releases

https://mars.nasa.gov/news/?page=0&per_ ... ope=Latest

All forum members are invited to post significant events for this day.
Events of interest will be ON Mars, or relate to Mars. Examples are launches, landings, discoveries

Standard Month in Mars Business Calendar Copyright ® 2023 NewMars.com Mars Society
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Recruiting text may be found at the bottom of this post: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php ... 57#p154257

Month 18 of 24: Last month of Quarter 3 << There are 27 days in Month 18 <<== Proposed name: Perihelion

[tahanson43206]

===
Today on Mars: 0037/18/17 Tuesday Days of the week offset 0 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth (updated 2024/05/08))

Today on Earth: 2024/05/14 Tuesday (Earth Date) Post Title: Today on Mars [Aphelion occurred May 30, 2023 Earth Calendar]
====*=


Per http://www-mars.lmd.jussieu.fr/mars/tim ... _time.html also see: in-the-sky.org for opposition/perigee/aphelion

Martian Year: 37 Martian Astronomical Month in 12 month format: 9 <<== The Astronomical month will increment when longitude reaches 270 degrees

===
Solar Longitude: 254.6 Sol Number: 491 Change in degrees is +.7 Julian date is: J0037491
Solar Longitude: 253.9 Sol Number: 490 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0037490
Solar Longitude: 253.3 Sol Number: 489 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0037489
<<#

Note that Solar Longitude measurement varies as a function of location in orbit. Ls 0 is the moment when the Sun appears to transit from one hemisphere to the other. Update from Mars.NASA.gov (The Sun crosses the equator of Mars (Vernal Equinox)). The transition itself is a function of the tilt of an object with respect to the Solar plane. Per squarewidget.com, Hipparchus created the celestial coordinate system we use today.

Note#2: https://theskylive.com/mars-tracker This web site shows the astronomical position of Mars as seen from Earth
Todo: At next Aphelion/Perihelion record the Mars data J00##### (and set Search term)
Perihelion occurred at Ls 251 on Sol 485 – Earth Date 2024/05/08 Next: (estimated) 2026/03/06
Perihelion occurred at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2022/06/21 Next: (actual) 2024/05/08
Aphelion occurred at--- Ls 071 on Sol 152. Aphelion Earth Dates: Earlier: 2017/10/07, 2015/11/20
Aphelion occurred near Ls 070 on Sol 153 (per www.planetary.org)

Note#3: The computations below are dependent upon both the computations provided by the reference web site and by accuracy of recording of the time of observations. The calculations use tenths of hours. The Sun Distance needs to be captured at the moment the time increments to a given tenth.

Note on data below: The figure quoted after distance is a rate of progress along the orbital path [exact meaning to be determined]
Minus prefix means Mars is approaching the Sun. Plus prefix means Mars is moving away from the Sun.
The figure computed to the right of "Difference" is the rate of change of the distance to Sun. Increasing to Aphelion/Decreasing to Perihelion.

===
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 206,709,614 km [26.5 km/s] Difference is +11960 <= +0498 km/hour at 08.0 on 05/14 (time 8:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 206,697,654 km [26.5 km/s] Difference is +09846 <= +0410 km/hour at 08.0 on 05/13 (time 8:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 206,687,808 km [26.5 km/s] Difference is +07660 <= +0319 km/hour at 08.0 on 05/12 (time 8:00) (24.0 hours)
==*==*==*

Observation: The sky view is ** filled ** with objects and some have been recorded and given identification by humans or their robot assistants
And! ** All ** the location assignments are from the perspective of Earth. The entire catalog needs to be adjusted when inter-stellar travel begins
The work that lies ahead for the astronomical community is daunting - there is work ahead for centuries
2022/01/19 - All current (existing) stellar catalogs are computed with reference to the Earth. Another civilization would use it's planet as reference.
Perhaps a Milky Way frame of reference will become necessary at some point. The Earth is as good a Zero point as any, for humans.

=== Mars is in Regular Movement as seen from Earth. Mars is progressing from lower right to upper left in the view from Earth. Slant 20 degrees.
Next up: Galaxy in path at far left PGC 1246239 RA 00h 41m 46.3s – Day 0 -
(large:M13.50) NGC 198 RA 00h 23m 22.9s – Day 0 – Day 1 below/between 4.5 and 9 hour markers – last day for 198
====*====*>>>

Zoom Out Capability As a general observation ... I've become increasingly interested in knowing what the larger view of the sky might be like.
The site: theskylive.com does a terrific job of matching the view from Earth towards Mars, against a background of actual astronomical plates.
I wish there were a way (or rather, I wish I ** knew ** about a way that may exist) to enlarge the view until the entire galaxy is in view (Zoom out)
Update 2022/12/08 TheSkyLive.com provides a large view of selected objects: Select [Major Bodies] Then select [Information] in the body of interest
Update 2022/12/08 Scroll down to (body) Position and Finder Charts. Field of view is 50x30 degrees.

Note: The curve of the path of Mars as seen against the background of stars is now a line heading left at a downward angle.
As of 2023/01/11, the curve of the path has returned to regular movement to the left border

Light travel time today is between 15 and 16 minutes. Communications delay would be 30+ minutes round trip.

===
Earth Distance 2024/05/14 288,024,000 (decreasing)
Earth Distance 2024/05/13 288,525,000 (decreasing)
Earth Distance 2024/05/12 289,154,000 (decreasing)
#>

Light travel in one second is (about) 300,000 kilometers. The distance covered in one minute is about 18,000,000 kilometers. Estimated light times:
1:18, 2:36, 3:54, 4:72, 5:90, 6:108, 7:126, 8:144,9:162,10:180,11:198,12:216,13:234,14:252,15:270,16:288,17:306,18:324,19:342,20:360,21:378,22:396

Maximum Earth-Mars distance is estimated to be 401 million kilometers (both at apogee and opposite vs Sun)
Mars and Earth were in Opposition (Earth center) in December of 2022. The date coincided with a (very rare) occultation of Mars by the Moon.
Mars and Earth were in Conjunction (Sun center) in November of 2023.
Mars and Earth appear to have been as close as they will get in this cycle. 81,454,323 kilometers on J0036644 Time: 4.53 minutes - 9 minutes round trip

In his online interview with Dr. Zubrin at the 2020 Mars Conference, Elon Musk reminded the audience that communications with Mars will necessarily include an intermediary station to handle traffic when the Sun is between Mars and Earth. Communications delays in that circumstance will increase due to the extra distance to be covered. Mr. Musk indicated he expects such communication will be handled by laser. Location would be optimum at poles of solar plane.

Regular movement of Mars as seen from Earth resumed as of 2023/01/13. RA is once again increasing.
According to www.hercampus.com, Retrograde movement began October 30, 2022.
The online solar system display at the link below shows clearly how the Mars movement will occur in months ahead.

This web site offers an online model of the solar system: www.solarsystemscope.com It requires Chrome 57, Firefox 52 or Safari 10.1. Viewed 2022/10/13: Opposition will occur some time in December of 2022. Per earthsky.org, the date is December 8, 2022.

This web site offers an online orrery view of the Solar System: https://www.theplanetstoday.com/

===
Sol 491 is in Month 18 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary.
Month 18 extends from Sol 475 through 501. <<== There are 27 days in Month 18. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php ... 57#p154257
Sol 491 is Tuesday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 485 was a Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 522 June 13th
##

The Next New Year's on Mars will occur when Solar Longitude reaches 360 degrees. <<== The current year on Mars is 37
Per www.planetary.org Year 36 started 2021/02/07 on Earth. Mars Year 37 began 2022/12/27 on Earth.

Days of the Week Alignment:
Days of the week fall behind Earth due to the longer Sol, but they also change when Friday is omitted at the end of a Quarter
337 Earth days were observed to elapse in the 2020 weekday cycle. There were 7 week day transitions and 2 Quarter ends.
The next cycle began on the first Sol of the period of coincidence. The alignment of weekdays interval is in the range: (310 - 337)
To find the first day of a period of coincidence: Set up: SearchTerm(colon) and (colon)Alignment and J0036* or J0037*
The most recent End-Of-Quarter change occurred: … The search specified above gave 11 pages of results.

For current weather on Mars see:

***https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/weather/***
***Insight's weather info has been suspended and now is directing to msl*** <<-- Insight's mission is over (2022)

https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/weather/

Per SpaceNut: Here is another web page by NASA containing the latest news releases

https://mars.nasa.gov/news/?page=0&per_ ... ope=Latest

All forum members are invited to post significant events for this day.
Events of interest will be ON Mars, or relate to Mars. Examples are launches, landings, discoveries

Standard Month in Mars Business Calendar Copyright ® 2023 NewMars.com Mars Society
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Recruiting text may be found at the bottom of this post: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php ... 57#p154257

Month 18 of 24: Last month of Quarter 3 << There are 27 days in Month 18 <<== Proposed name: Perihelion

[tahanson43206]

===
Today on Mars: 0037/18/16 Monday Days of the week offset 0 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth (updated 2024/05/08))

Today on Earth: 2024/05/13 Monday (Earth Date) Post Title: Today on Mars [Aphelion occurred May 30, 2023 Earth Calendar]
====*=


Per http://www-mars.lmd.jussieu.fr/mars/tim ... _time.html also see: in-the-sky.org for opposition/perigee/aphelion

Martian Year: 37 Martian Astronomical Month in 12 month format: 9 <<== The Astronomical month will increment when longitude reaches 270 degrees

===
Solar Longitude: 253.9 Sol Number: 490 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0037490
Solar Longitude: 253.3 Sol Number: 489 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0037489
Solar Longitude: 252.7 Sol Number: 488 Change in degrees is +.7 Julian date is: J0037488
<<#

Note that Solar Longitude measurement varies as a function of location in orbit. Ls 0 is the moment when the Sun appears to transit from one hemisphere to the other. Update from Mars.NASA.gov (The Sun crosses the equator of Mars (Vernal Equinox)). The transition itself is a function of the tilt of an object with respect to the Solar plane. Per squarewidget.com, Hipparchus created the celestial coordinate system we use today.

Note#2: https://theskylive.com/mars-tracker This web site shows the astronomical position of Mars as seen from Earth
Todo: At next Aphelion/Perihelion record the Mars data J00##### (and set Search term)
Perihelion occurred at Ls 251 on Sol 485 – Earth Date 2024/05/08 Next: (estimated) 2026/03/06
Perihelion occurred at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2022/06/21 Next: (actual) 2024/05/08
Aphelion occurred at--- Ls 071 on Sol 152. Aphelion Earth Dates: Earlier: 2017/10/07, 2015/11/20
Aphelion occurred near Ls 070 on Sol 153 (per www.planetary.org)

Note#3: The computations below are dependent upon both the computations provided by the reference web site and by accuracy of recording of the time of observations. The calculations use tenths of hours. The Sun Distance needs to be captured at the moment the time increments to a given tenth.

Note on data below: The figure quoted after distance is a rate of progress along the orbital path [exact meaning to be determined]
Minus prefix means Mars is approaching the Sun. Plus prefix means Mars is moving away from the Sun.
The figure computed to the right of "Difference" is the rate of change of the distance to Sun. Increasing to Aphelion/Decreasing to Perihelion.

===
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 206,697,654 km [26.5 km/s] Difference is +9846 <= +0490 km/hour at 08.0 on 05/13 (time 8:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 206,687,808 km [26.5 km/s] Difference is +7660 <= +0319 km/hour at 08.0 on 05/12 (time 8:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 206,680,140 km [26.5 km/s] Difference is +5499 <= +0220 km/hour at 08.0 on 05/11 (time 8:00) (24.0 hours)
==*==*==*

Observation: The sky view is ** filled ** with objects and some have been recorded and given identification by humans or their robot assistants
And! ** All ** the location assignments are from the perspective of Earth. The entire catalog needs to be adjusted when inter-stellar travel begins
The work that lies ahead for the astronomical community is daunting - there is work ahead for centuries
2022/01/19 - All current (existing) stellar catalogs are computed with reference to the Earth. Another civilization would use it's planet as reference.
Perhaps a Milky Way frame of reference will become necessary at some point. The Earth is as good a Zero point as any, for humans.

=== Mars is in Regular Movement as seen from Earth. Mars is progressing from lower right to upper left in the view from Earth. Slant 20 degrees.
Next up: Galaxy below path (large:M13.50) NGC 198 RA 00h 23m 22.9s – Day 0 -
PGC 1230137 RA 00h 35m 10.0s – Day 0 – Day 1 – Out of view on right
====*====*>>>

Zoom Out Capability As a general observation ... I've become increasingly interested in knowing what the larger view of the sky might be like.
The site: theskylive.com does a terrific job of matching the view from Earth towards Mars, against a background of actual astronomical plates.
I wish there were a way (or rather, I wish I ** knew ** about a way that may exist) to enlarge the view until the entire galaxy is in view (Zoom out)
Update 2022/12/08 TheSkyLive.com provides a large view of selected objects: Select [Major Bodies] Then select [Information] in the body of interest
Update 2022/12/08 Scroll down to (body) Position and Finder Charts. Field of view is 50x30 degrees.

Note: The curve of the path of Mars as seen against the background of stars is now a line heading left at a downward angle.
As of 2023/01/11, the curve of the path has returned to regular movement to the left border

Light travel time today is between 15 and 16 minutes. Communications delay would be 30+ minutes round trip.

===
Earth Distance 2024/05/13 288,525,000 (decreasing)
Earth Distance 2024/05/12 289,154,000 (decreasing)
Earth Distance 2024/05/11 289,663,333 (decreasing)
#>

Light travel in one second is (about) 300,000 kilometers. The distance covered in one minute is about 18,000,000 kilometers. Estimated light times:
1:18, 2:36, 3:54, 4:72, 5:90, 6:108, 7:126, 8:144,9:162,10:180,11:198,12:216,13:234,14:252,15:270,16:288,17:306,18:324,19:342,20:360,21:378,22:396

Maximum Earth-Mars distance is estimated to be 401 million kilometers (both at apogee and opposite vs Sun)
Mars and Earth were in Opposition (Earth center) in December of 2022. The date coincided with a (very rare) occultation of Mars by the Moon.
Mars and Earth were in Conjunction (Sun center) in November of 2023.
Mars and Earth appear to have been as close as they will get in this cycle. 81,454,323 kilometers on J0036644 Time: 4.53 minutes - 9 minutes round trip

In his online interview with Dr. Zubrin at the 2020 Mars Conference, Elon Musk reminded the audience that communications with Mars will necessarily include an intermediary station to handle traffic when the Sun is between Mars and Earth. Communications delays in that circumstance will increase due to the extra distance to be covered. Mr. Musk indicated he expects such communication will be handled by laser. Location would be optimum at poles of solar plane.

Regular movement of Mars as seen from Earth resumed as of 2023/01/13. RA is once again increasing.
According to www.hercampus.com, Retrograde movement began October 30, 2022.
The online solar system display at the link below shows clearly how the Mars movement will occur in months ahead.

This web site offers an online model of the solar system: www.solarsystemscope.com It requires Chrome 57, Firefox 52 or Safari 10.1. Viewed 2022/10/13: Opposition will occur some time in December of 2022. Per earthsky.org, the date is December 8, 2022.

This web site offers an online orrery view of the Solar System: https://www.theplanetstoday.com/

===
Sol 490 is in Month 18 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary.
Month 18 extends from Sol 475 through 501. <<== There are 27 days in Month 18. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php ... 57#p154257
Sol 490 is Monday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 485 was a Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 522 June 13th
##

The Next New Year's on Mars will occur when Solar Longitude reaches 360 degrees. <<== The current year on Mars is 37
Per www.planetary.org Year 36 started 2021/02/07 on Earth. Mars Year 37 began 2022/12/27 on Earth.

Days of the Week Alignment:
Days of the week fall behind Earth due to the longer Sol, but they also change when Friday is omitted at the end of a Quarter
337 Earth days were observed to elapse in the 2020 weekday cycle. There were 7 week day transitions and 2 Quarter ends.
The next cycle began on the first Sol of the period of coincidence. The alignment of weekdays interval is in the range: (310 - 337)
To find the first day of a period of coincidence: Set up: SearchTerm(colon) and (colon)Alignment and J0036* or J0037*
The most recent End-Of-Quarter change occurred: … The search specified above gave 11 pages of results.

For current weather on Mars see:

***https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/weather/***
***Insight's weather info has been suspended and now is directing to msl*** <<-- Insight's mission is over (2022)

https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/weather/

Per SpaceNut: Here is another web page by NASA containing the latest news releases

https://mars.nasa.gov/news/?page=0&per_ ... ope=Latest

All forum members are invited to post significant events for this day.
Events of interest will be ON Mars, or relate to Mars. Examples are launches, landings, discoveries

Standard Month in Mars Business Calendar Copyright ® 2023 NewMars.com Mars Society
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Recruiting text may be found at the bottom of this post: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php ... 57#p154257

Month 18 of 24: Last month of Quarter 3 << There are 27 days in Month 18 <<== Proposed name: Perihelion

[tahanson43206]

206,687,808 km [26.5 km/s]

Place holder for today's Calendar update

[tahanson43206]

206,674,649 km [26.5 km/s]

Place holder for today's Calendar update