Mars Stays Up All Night
These photos depict the two hemispheres of Mars with a few of the most prominent features labeled. Olympus Mons is the largest and tallest volcano in the solar system with a height of 16 miles (25 km) and diameter of 374 miles (624 km). The hazy, white patches are clouds. North is up. Left: Damian Peach (Oct. 12). Right: Anthony Wesley (Oct. 4) Today, Oct. 13 is a special day for Mars. It's at opposition to the Earth and very close to us. If you go out tonight and look off to the southeast after 9 o'clock you can't miss it. Mars is so brilliant that sometimes I find myself just staring at it, amazed. We won't see it as good until 2035. Heck, I'll be 82 then. I'm not going to waste a mesmerizing minute. On Oct. 11, Mike Sangster of Duluth, Minn. used an 8-inch telescope to capture this photo of Mars and its two moons, Deimos and Phobos. Mars is so incredibly bright compared to the moons this was not an easy photo to take. Michael Sangster At opposition, the Eart