Conjunction of Mars & Saturn August 2016

Conjunction Background: Occasionally, two or more objects meet up with each other in our sky. Astronomers use the word conjunction to describe these meetings. The word conjunction comes from Latin, meaning to join together.
In astronomy, a conjunction occurs when two astronomical objects or spacecraft appear to be close to each other in the sky.
This means they have either the same right ascension or the same ecliptic longitude, usually as observed from Earth.
When two objects always appear close to the ecliptic—such as two planets, the Moon and a planet, or the Sun and a planet—this fact implies an apparent close approach between the objects as seen in the sky.
A related word, appulse, is the minimum apparent separation in the sky of two astronomical objects.
Conjunctions involve either two objects in the Solar System or one object in the Solar System and a more distant object, such as a star. A conjunction is an apparent phenomenon caused by the observer's perspective: the two objects involved are not actually close to one another in space.
Conjunctions between two bright objects close to the ecliptic, such as two bright planets, can be seen with the naked eye.
You can keep up to date with upcoming conjunctions by visiting 'Earthsky.org'

Description: The red planet Mars passed in between the planet Saturn and the bright star Antares.
That’s after seeing them for months in a triangle pattern on our sky’s dome, then watching the triangle get narrower and narrower as Mars has shifted eastward.
Over the next couple of nights, the threesome forms a straight line (or very nearly so) on the sky’s dome as darkness falls.
The name Antares means “like Mars,” probably because of the similarity of color between the red planet Mars and the ruddy star Antares. Mars is the brightest of these three bright starlike lights, with Saturn ranking second and Antares third.

Conjunction of Mars & Saturn

Imaging Details

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