Question: How was Mars In sky

Namrah Habib answered on 8 Mar 2021: last edited 8 Mar 2021 10:53 pm

Hello again Rehmu! I hope I understand your question right, but I think you are asking why do we see Mars in the night sky?

All the planets in our Solar System orbit the sun in approximately the same plane, but they orbit the sun at different rates than the Earth. Therefore, we can see the other planets in the night sky as they orbit the sun during different times in the year. Usually, we can see the brightest planets (Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) fairly regularly at different times in the year.

Planets don’t produce their own light and when you observe a planet in the night sky you are actually seeing the light from the sun that is being reflected off of the atmosphere of that planet. Also, planets in general may not always look the same during different times of the year. As the planets move further or closer away from Earth they appear to be dimmer or brighter respectively! Mars, when viewed in the night sky, also tends to have this reddish-orange colour which makes it slightly easier to spot.

You can actually observe Mars right now if you go out and look south west right after sunset if you are in the UK! But don’t wait too long to try and find it since Mars is moving away from Earth so it will get dimmer in the night sky and harder to find. I wish you luck in searching for Mars 🙂