↑ Poster Maker: Feng Juan
Mars, an elusive red planet, has always been one of the focal points of people's night stargazing. With the successive visits of many human probes such as "Perseverance" and "Tianwen-1", 2021 will become the dream year of human conquest of Red Mars.
↑This is a full image of Tianjin astronomy enthusiast Wang Shuo who spent several months in 2020 tracking and recording mars from far to near before and after the "opposition", and then gradually moving away. (Courtesy of Wang Shuo himself)
According to astronomical science experts, on May 16, the Red Planet will stage a "Mars conjunction moon" with the moon. At that time, if the weather is good, interested publics will look up at the western sky and see the red Mars and the moth moon at close range with the naked eye.
Mars is the first planet outside the Earth's orbit, due to the large change in brightness, it was called "Ying confusion" in ancient China. In May, Mars descended in Gemini and fell at about 23:11, visible in the first half of the night.
↑This is a photo of Mars taken by Beijing astronomy enthusiast Zong Haiyang on October 18, 2020. (Courtesy of Zong Haiyang himself)
Following the "lunar occlusion of Mars" on April 17 this year, they will be approaching again. "At about 20:00 on May 16, at a low altitude in the west, people will see the moth eyebrow moon on the fifth day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar, like a crooked boat floating. Against the backdrop of the dark blue canopy, the moth-eyebrow moon is graceful and delicate; not far below the 'moon ship', there is a slightly reddish star, as if a gem left on the 'moon ship', which is Mars. The reddish Mars and the gentle moon, in the firmament, are affectionately opposite, staging a beautiful 'star and moon fairy tale', adding a little fun to the night sky in late spring and early summer. Song Yuanyuan, director of the Tianjin Astronomical Society and an expert in astronomical science popularization at the Tianjin Science and Technology Museum, said.
↑This is a photo of "Mars Closing the Moon" taken by Tianjin astronomy enthusiast Wang Shuo on April 17, 2021. (Courtesy of Wang Shuo himself)
↑This is a photo of the "Mars Moon" taken by Beijing astronomy enthusiast Dai Jianfeng on December 5, 2016 at the corner tower of the Forbidden City. (Courtesy of Dai Jianfeng himself)
"The 'Mars Conjunction Moon' is a regular celestial phenomenon, and a very important reason why it has attracted attention is Mars itself. Mars, the planet closest to Earth and with the most similar environment, has long been the preferred target for deep space exploration outside the Earth-Moon system. Up to now, human beings have successively launched dozens of probes to Mars, including China's 'Tianwen-1'. Song Yuanyuan said.
↑ On October 1, 2020, the China National Space Administration released the flight image of China's first Mars exploration mission "Tianwen-1" probe. Xinhua News Agency (Photo courtesy of China National Space Administration)
From the deep space "selfie", to the transmission of the first image of Mars, and then to the orbit of the ring Mars, China's first Mars exploration mission "Tianwen-1" has attracted the attention of the Chinese people since its launch. The exciting news is that it is expected that in mid-to-late May 2021, the "Tianwen-1" lander part and the "Zhurong" rover will land on Mars to carry out landing and patrol exploration on the surface of Mars.
↑On April 24, 2021, the China National Space Administration officially announced at the main event of China Space Day in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province: China's first Mars rover named "Zhu Rong". (Xinhua News Agency)
"Let us all look forward to this historic moment, wish Tianwen-1 a successful landing, and bring us more news about Mars." Song Yuanyuan said.
Producer: Zhao Cheng
Producer: Hu Qinghai
Planner: Liu Xinhui
Text: Zhou Runjian
It was jointly produced by Xinhua News Agency and Tianjin Branch of Xinhua News Agency
Produced by Starry Sky Studios
Source: Xinhua News Agency