Mars Opposition 2020: online observation – 13 Oct. 2020
After more than two years, planet Mars is back at its best to be observed. The Virtual Telescope will bring the beauty of the Red Planet to you, live: join us online, from the...
Tagged: Mars
Vernal Equinox: the Jupiter-Mars conjunction welcomes the new season – 20 Mar. 2020
Today (exactly on 20 March 2020, at 03:50 UTC) our Sun, in its apparent motion along the Ecliptic, crossed the Celestial Equator from South to North: for this reason, we celebrate the Vernal Equinox....
The Moon, Jupiter, Mars and Saturn: a celestial meeting from my balcony – 19 Mar. 2020
The Moon made a nice meeting with planets Jupiter, Mars and Saturn, early today at dawn. I managed to capture the group from my balcony in Rome. I managed to wake up on time...
Mercury – Mars close conjunction: some thoughts and images (18 June 2019)
It is always great to see two planets sharing the same spot in the sky. A few days ago, just after sunset, it was possible to admire a Mercury – Mars close conjunction, with...
When the Moon, Mercury and Mars meet above Rome… the show is guaranteed! – 5 June 2019
These evenings, planet Mercury is back at sunset, peaking at magnitude -1 or so. The young Moon and Mars added their beauty last night, so I managed to capture a few images. With the...
Mars and Uranus: 12 Feb. 2019 conjunction – an image
On 12-13 Feb. 2019, planets Mars and Uranus had a nice conjunction. While Mars is visible by naked eye, Uranus requires a small binocular to be seen. Here it is an image we captured...
Mars and Neptune meet in the sky: an image of a stunning conjunction – 7 Dec. 2018
On 7 Dec. 2018, planets Mars and Neptune had a very close conjunction, coming closer than 2 arcminutes. A few hours later, we could image them, also grabbing Triton, the largest satellite of Neptune....
An epic Grand Tour: all the Eight planets seen on the same night, above the legendary monuments of Rome – 28 & 29 Aug. 2018
I have been thinking about this for decades: see and hopefully image all the planets of our Solar System in one night, from sunset to dawn. And I did it, last night, in a...
The Solar System walks down the starry catwalk above Rome – 17 Aug. 2018
These nights, four planets plus the Moon are visible at sunset: Venus, Jupiter, Mars and Saturn plot the Zodiacal avenue up there, with our satellite joining the parade. Seeing four planets or more at...
The epic, 27 July 2018 total lunar eclipse and planet Mars from the Colosseum and the Roman Forum made history
The recent, longest total lunar eclipse of the Century and planet Mars at its great opposition, admired above the legendary Colosseum in Rome, from the ancient Roman Forum on the Palatine Hill, set a...
The Night of the Red Moon and the Red Planet: the total lunar eclipse and planet Mars color the starry sky – 27 July 2018
Next 27 July 2018, the sky will offer us a unique view: a total lunar eclipse, with the Moon wearing its elegant, ruby dress and Mars, the red planet, at its most favorable observing...
The sky turns the year putting a great show out there: the Moon, Venus, Mars and Neptune: 30 Dec. 2016 and 01 Jan. 2017
While 2016 approached its end, ready to welcome 2017, the sky putted a marvelous great show out there, with the sharp Moon crescent and a planetary parade with the very bright Venus, the palely red...
Mars and Neptune conjunction, a very close encounter: 1 Jan. 2017
The year is slowly ending, we start looking into 2017 to look for nice astronomical events and the first one we find, a very close Mars and Neptune conjunction. It will show across the...
The Five Planets are back: see all of them at a glance, next August 2016
This 2016 has been, so far, particularly generous with us, considering the visibility of the planets. Last Feb., we had all the five,classic planets visible at a glance, providing a stunning planetary parade. It...
