Don't miss the chance to see Mars in Vietnam!

Astronomers in Vietnam can see Mars from today, even with the naked eye, there is no need to wait until 10am on Sunday morning (October 30, Hanoi time) when Mars is left 69.4 million km of land. This is the closest distance between these two bodies over the past 2 years.

This is a partial diagram of the solar system on October 30, when Earth (Earth) and Mars (Mars) are closest.Earth in the middle, Sun (Sun) and Mars on either side

According to Master Phan Van Dong, General Secretary of the Astronomical Society of Vietnam, the current period is called the pulse phase, which means Earth in the middle, the Sun on one side and Mars on one side. When the Sun goes down, Mars appears on the eastern horizon. Therefore, in Vietnam, you can see Mars.

Start observing from 20-21 hours daily

You can observe Mars all night in Vietnam, starting from 20-21 hours. With the naked eye, if you look directly to the east, slightly to the south a little bit, you will see a red light dot, like a star. That is Mars. However, it is still possible to distinguish Mars because the red light appears to be bigger and brighter than other stars in the night sky. More and more late, Mars travels higher and higher in the sky, while moving gradually to the west, so it becomes more visible.

Near morning, this celestial body reaches its highest height. When the Sun rises, Mars is in the western sky. However, because the sun light overwhelmed, there was no observation of Mars in Vietnam. This is unfortunate for astronomers in Vietnam because the most obvious time to see Mars is at 10:19 am Sunday morning (October 30) when Mars is 69.4 km from Earth - distance closest between these two bodies in the last 2 years.

Another important information is that cold air and tropical low pressure will cause rain and cloudy weather, affecting Mars observing activities in Vietnam in the coming days. However, don't be disappointed because after 30/10, Mars is still one of the brightest and most wonderful celestial bodies in the night sky. In other words, in Vietnam it is still possible to see Mars in the night sky from now until the end of December 2005.

There are no telescopes, use group tubes and naked eyes

If observed with the naked eye, Mars will appear as a red light dot. Through telescopes, Mars will appear in large sizes like the Moon or sparkling ball. With telescopes with a diameter of 60mm, Syrtis Major is easy to observe, the most visible characteristic of Mars. The vast plains, many of these craters, appear as a triangular black tongue, the peak facing the North Pole of Mars.

Mars (Mars) emerges in the east when darkness falls

Helas can also be observed - a giant crater created by meteorites and often covered by a white mist. If you invest in telescopes with a diameter of more than 200mm, you can see more details, including Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system at an altitude of 25.6km. Mars's South Pole, narrowed by the heat of summer, will appear as a sparkling white dot. If you're lucky, one night you can see the tiny moon - Phobos and Deimos - of Mars. They used to be asteroids until they were captured by Mars.

If you don't buy / borrow telescopes (due to a rare, high price, there is only one telescope shop in Ho Chi Minh City, there is no similar store in Hanoi) but want to see Mars better. compared to the naked eye, Ths Dong said: fixing binoculars to a certain fulcrum, such as a pile, can also observe Mars. The larger the magnification of the binoculars, the more clearly visible.

Hopefully in 2018 when this interesting natural phenomenon repeats, every province or at least every region in Vietnam has a home to show the universe to the public, especially young people, can come and observe, find understand astronomy. According to Vietnamese astronomers, Vietnam currently has only one space projection house in Vinh City (Nghe An) while Germany has 69 houses, China 40 houses, Japan 268 houses and US 1,055 houses. Two years ago, Hanoi City intends to reserve a plot of land in the south of the city to build a French-funded space projection house. However, 2 years have passed but still haven't seen anything yet!

Minh Son