Here are a couple of wonderful shots of the same thing – something you can see for yourself in the night sky – the red planet Mars and bright, blue-white star Spica near each other on the sky’s dome. Both are rising not long after sunset now and are in the sky all night. In the shot above, Daniel McVey caught them ascending over the mountains in the Colorado Rockies. Notice he has outlined the little squarish constellation Corvus the Crow (or Raven) near them. It can help you be sure you’ve found Mars and Spica. Notice that a line between the Corvus stars Glenah and Algorab points to Mars and Spica.
Meanwhile, Asthadi Setyawan in Batu City, East Java, Indonesia captured this cool photo of the planet Mars on March 28, 2014. Mars is the brighter reddish object. The light is pointing straight toward it.
Bottom line: Two great photos of planet Mars and star Spica in the March 2014 night sky. It’s nearly the best time in two years to see Mars! Watch for it.
Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she won the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.
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