MARS OPPOSITIONS, 1950-2061
adapted from SEDS
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John Pazmino
NYSkies Astronomy Inc
www.nyskies.org
nyskies@nyskies.org
2022 August 14
Introduction
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This table gives data for both the moment of opposition and of
proximity. It dramaticly shows that the two events in general do not
coincide. Popular discussion of opposition say it is the same as
closest approach to Earth.
The dispersion comes from the elliptical orbit of Mars. When mars
is 180 deg of ecliptic longitude from sun, he may be several days away
from the proximity point along the orbit.
Before the opposition of 2003 most astronomers didn't mind the
offset and let it be. For the 2003 opposition mars was about as close
as he possibly could come. Trips were staged to place observers at the
very spot on Earth actually closest to Mars. The determination
accounted for Earth's radius and Mars in the zenith.
The dispersion of A substantial factor in planning and promoting
these trips was the offset of proximity from opposition. the actual
closest spot
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Row 1: Oppn Date-Hour UT, L_hel, RA, Dec, m_max
Row 2: Prox Date-Hour UT, AU, mILLION KM, diam
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1950 Mar 23 05:37 182:44 12:13 +02:20 -1.33
1950 Mar 27 06:15 0.64971 97.20 14.41
1952 May 1 01:25 221:17 14:34 -14:17 -1.78
1952 May 8 13:31 0.55824 83.51 16.77
1954 Jun 24 17:14 273:16 18:12 -27:41 -2.49
1954 Jul 2 08:01 0.42779 64.00 21.88
1956 Sep 10 21:51 348:45 23:26 -10:07 -2.85
1956 Sep 7 04:54 0.37809 56.56 24.76
1958 Nov 16 14:26 54:19 03:25 +19:08 -2.19
1958 Nov 8 13:15 0.48770 72.96 19.19
1960 Dec 30 10:14 99:17 06:39 +26:49 -1.55
1960 Dec 25 05:46 0.60682 90.78 15.42
1963 Feb 4 11:50 135:28 09:15 +20:42 -1.25
1963 Feb 3 03:23 0.67045 100.30 13.96
1965 Mar 9 12:22 169:13 11:25 +08:08 -1.25
1965 Mar 12 01:13 0.66847 100.00 14.00
1967 Apr 15 11:24 205:16 13:35 -07:43 -1.56
1967 Apr 21 17:39 0.60120 89.94 15.57
1969 May 31 15:50 250:26 16:32 -23:56 -2.19
1969 Jun 9 04:15 0.47955 71.74 19.52
1971 Aug 10 06:52 317:24 21:27 -22:15
-2.85 1971 Aug 12 02:32 0.37569 56.20 24.91
1973 Oct 25 03:28 31:56 02:00 +10:17 -2.49
1973 Oct 17 04:11 0.43604 65.23 21.47
1975 Dec 15 13:59 83:18 05:29 +26:02 -1.76
1975 Dec 9 00:09 0.56549 84.60 16.55
1978 Jan 22 00:11 121:55 08:20 +24:06 -1.33
1978 Jan 19 03:07 0.65319 97.72 14.33
1980 Feb 25 05:43 156:04 10:37 +13:27 -1.22
1980 Feb 26 06:06 0.67731 101.32 13.83
1982 Mar 31 10:14 190:38 12:43 -01:21 -1.40
1982 Apr 5 06:36 0.63511 95.01 14.75
1984 May 11 08:52 231:04 15:13 +18:05 -1.92
1984 May 19 10:44 0.53146 79.51 17.63
1986 Jul 10 05:27 287:52 19:20 -27:44 -2.65
1986 Jul 16 10:59 0.40357 60.37 23.21
1988 Sep 28 03:32 5:23 00:27 -02:06 -2.75
1988 Sep 22 03:19 0.39315 58.81 23.83
1990 Nov 27 20:35 65:20 04:13 +22:38 -2.02
1990 Nov 20 03:50 0.51692 77.33 18.12
1993 Jan 7 22:43 107:40 07:19 +26:16 -1.46
1993 Jan 3 13:33 0.62609 93.66 14.96
1995 Feb 12 02:32 142:54 09:47 +18:10 -1.23
1995 Feb 11 14:20 0.67569 101.08 13.86
1997 Mar 17 07:55 176:46 11:54 +04:40 -1.29
1997 Mar 20 16:51 0.65938 98.64 14.20
1999 Apr 24 17:38 214:06 14:09 -11:37 -1.67
1999 May 1 17:28 0.57846 86.54 16.18
2001 Jun 13 17:59 262:46 17:28 -26:30 -2.36
2001 Jun 21 22:57 0.45017 67.34 20.79
2003 Aug 28 17:59 335:01 22:38 -15:49 -2.88
2003 Aug 27 09:52 0.37272 55.76 25.11
2005 Nov 7 07:59 45:01 02:51 +15:54 -2.33
2005 Oct 30 03:26 0.46406 69.42 20.19
2007 Dec 24 19:47 92:46 06:12 +26:46 -1.64
2007 Dec 18 23:47 0.58935 88.17 15.88
2010 Jan 29 19:37 129:39 08:54 +22:09 -1.28
2010 Jan 27 19:02 0.66398 99.33 14.10
2012 Mar 3 20:04 163:29 11:07 +10:17 -1.23
2012 Mar 5 17:01 0.67368 100.78 13.89
2014 Apr 8 20:57 198:44 13:14 -05:08 -1.48
2014 Apr 14 12:54 0.61756 92.39 15.16
2016 May 22 11:11 241:34 15:58 -21:39 -2.06
2016 May 30 21:36 0.50321 75.28 18.60
2018 Jul 27 05:07 303:53 20:33 -25:30 -2.78
2018 Jul 31 07:51 0.38496 57.59 24.31
2020 Oct 13 23:20 20:12 01:22 +05:26 -2.62
2020 Oct 6 14:19 0.41492 62.07 22.56
2022 Dec 8 05:36 75:47 04:59 +25:00 -1.87
2022 Dec 1 02:18 0.54447 81.45 17.19
2025 Jan 16 02:32 115:52 07:56 +25:07 -1.38
2025 Jan 12 13:38 0.64228 96.08 14.57
2027 Feb 19 15:45 150:23 10:18 +15:23 -1.21
2027 Feb 20 00:14 0.67792 101.42 13.81
2029 Mar 25 07:43 184:32 12:23 +01:04 -1.34
2029 Mar 29 12.56 0.64722 96.82 14.46
2031 May 4 11:57 223:25 14:46 -15:29 -1.80
2031 May 12 03:50 0.55336 82.78 16.91
2033 Jun 27 01:24 275:39 18:30 -27:50 -2.51
2033 Jul 5 11:19 0.42302 63.28 22.13
2035 Sep 15 19:33 352:19 23:43 -08:01 -2.84
2035 Sep 11 14:21 0.38041 56.91 24.61
2037 Nov 19 09:04 56:51 03:37 +20:16 -2.16
2037 Nov 11 08:00 0.49358 73.84 18.96
2040 Jan 2 15:21 101:16 06:50 +26:41 -1.53
2039 Dec 28 14:47 0.61092 91.39 15.32
2042 Feb 6 11:59 137:14 09:25 +19:50 -1.24
2042 Feb 5 07:57 0.67174 100.49 13.93
2044 Mar 11 12:44 170:59 11:33 +06:56 -1.26
2044 Mar 14 06:07 0.66708 99.79 14.03
2046 Apr 17 18:01 207:15 13:44 -09:00 -1.58
2046 Apr 24 04:33 0.59704 89.32 15.68
2048 Jun 3 14:45 253:01 16:45 -24:45 -2.22
2048 Jun 12 01:41 0.47366 70.86 19.76
2050 Aug 14 07:46 321:02 21:43 -20:44 -2.87
2050 Aug 15 12:55 0.37405 55.96 25.02
2052 Oct 28 06:28 34:49 02:12 +11:58 -2.46
2052 Oct 20 05:12 0.44091 65.96 21.23
2054 Dec 17 22:09 85:25 05:40 +26:20 -1.73
2054 Dec 11 11:44 0.57015 85.29 16.42
2057 Jan 24 01:26 123:44 08:28 +23:27 -1.32
2057 Jan 21 09:03 0.65552 98.06 14.28
2059 Feb 27 05:25 157:48 10:44 +12:20 -1.22
2059 Feb 28 10:32 0.67681 101.25 13.83
2061 Apr 2 12:47 192:27 12:50 -02:38 -1.41
2061 Apr 7 13:54 0.63199 94.54 14.81