Martian Calendar Based on Formula by RobertDyck

Post by **tahanson43206** » Thu Aug 13, 2026 2:26 pm

===
Today on Mars: 0038/23/09 Monday Days of the week OFFSET 3 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth )
Sol 622 Business Month 23 Fourth month of Quarter 4 of Year 38
Today on Earth: 2026/08/13 Thursday Earth Date)
>16

To see how this calendar works, we show the standard 28 day month at the bottom of this daily report.
There are 20 months of 28 Sols and 4 months of 27 Sols at the end of the four six-month quarters.
New Years Eve is extended to align the Business Calendar for Mars with the Astronomical calendar.
Business and Astronomical both start at zero (to the nanosecond) on New Year's Day.
This calendar has been in operation for two full Mars years (36 and 37). We are in Year 38

This calendar is NOT the Darian Calendar!

Per http://www-mars.lmd.jussieu.fr/mars/tim ... _time.html also see: in-the-sky.org for opposition/perigee/aphelion

Martian Year: 38 Martian Astronomical Interval in 12 interval format: 12 <<== The Astronomical interval
Check Longitude: the interval will increment when longitude reaches 360 degrees

===
Solar Longitude: 334.7 Sol Number: 622 Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0038622
Solar Longitude: 334.2 Sol Number: 621 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038621
Solar Longitude: 333.6 Sol Number: 620 Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0038620
#4>

Note that Solar Longitude measurement varies as a function of location in orbit. Ls 0 is the moment when the Sun appears to transit from one hemisphere to the other. Update from Mars.NASA.gov (The Sun crosses the equator of Mars (Vernal Equinox)). The transition itself is a function of the tilt of an object with respect to the Solar plane. Per squarewidget.com, Hipparchus created the celestial coordinate system we use today.

Note#2: https://theskylive.com/mars-tracker This web site shows the astronomical position of Mars as seen from Earth
Todo: At next Aphelion/Perihelion record the Mars date as J00##### (and set Search term)
Perihelion occurred in 2026 at Ls 251 on Sol 486 - Earth Date 2026/03/27 Next: (estimated) 2028/05/15
Perihelion occurred in 2024 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2024/05/08 Next: (estimated) 2026/03/06 (actual) 2026/03/26
Perihelion occurred in 2022 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2022/06/21 Next: (actual) 2024/05/08
Aphelion Earth Dates: Next: 2027/03/04 Earlier: 2025/04/16, 2023/05/30, 2021/07/12, 2019/08/25, 2017/10/07, 2015/11/20
Aphelion occurred at--- Ls 071 on Sol 152.
Aphelion occurred near Ls 070 on Sol 153 (per http://www.planetary.org)

Note#3: The computations below are dependent upon both the computations provided by the reference web site and by accuracy of recording of the time of observations. The calculations use tenths of hours. The Sun Distance needs to be captured at the moment the time increments to a given tenth.

Note on data below: The figure quoted after distance is a rate of progress along the orbital path [exact meaning to be determined]
Minus prefix means Mars is approaching the Sun. Plus prefix means Mars is moving away from the Sun.
The figure computed to the right of "Difference" is the rate of change of the distance to Sun. Increasing to Aphelion/Decreasing to Perihelion.

Aphelion of Mars is due March 04, 2027 Sol 151-152 Note velocity of Mars was 22.0 km/s nearing Aphelion (21.97 km/s)
Perhelion of Mars is due May, 2028 Sol 251 Note velocity of Mars was 26.5 km/s nearing Perhelion 2026/03/26

===
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 223,765,680 km [24.6 km/s] Difference is +194480 <= +8103 km/hour at 12.0 on 08/13 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 223,571,201 km [24.6 km/s] Difference is +194250 <= +8094 km/hour at 12.0 on 08/12 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 223,376,951 km [24.6 km/s] Difference is +194056 <= +8086 km/hour at 12.0 on 08/11 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
>13

Velocity along the orbit is NOT the same thing as velocity change of the radial distance to the Sun. Both are shown in the section above.
Observation: The sky view is ** filled ** with objects and some have been recorded and given identification by humans or their robot assistants
And! ** All ** the location assignments are from the perspective of Earth. The entire catalog needs to be adjusted when inter-stellar travel begins
The work that lies ahead for the astronomical community is daunting - there is work ahead for centuries
2022/01/19 - All current (existing) stellar catalogs are computed with reference to the Earth. Another civilization would use it's planet as reference.
Perhaps a Milky Way frame of reference will become necessary at some point. The Earth is as good a Zero point as any, for humans.

=== Mars is in Regular movement as seen from Earth.
Mars is in Taurus
Next ahead: mini-Boomer HIP 28969 RA 6h 6m 48.7s
Star in path TYC 1864-1748-1 RA 06h 03m 49.7s Day 2 Right at 10 hours past marker
14>

Zoom Out Capability As a general observation ... I've become increasingly interested in knowing what the larger view of the sky might be like.
The site: theskylive.com does a terrific job of matching the view from Earth towards Mars, against a background of actual astronomical plates.
I wish there were a way (or rather, I wish I ** knew ** about a way that may exist) to enlarge the view until the entire galaxy is in view (Zoom out)
Update 2022/12/08 TheSkyLive.com provides a large view of selected objects: Select [Major Bodies] Then select [Information] in the body of interest
Update 2022/12/08 Scroll down to (body) Position and Finder Charts. Field of view is 50x30 degrees.

Light travel in one second is (about) 300,000 kilometers. The distance covered in one minute is about 18,000,000 kilometers. Estimated light times:
1:18,2:36,3:54,4:72,5:90,6:108,7:126,8:144,9:162,10:180,11:198,12:216,13:234,14:252,15:270,16:288,17:306,18:324, 19:342,20:360,21:378,22:396

Light travel time today is between 17 and 18 minutes. Communications delay would be 34+ minutes round trip.

=== Time estimate will change below 288 megaKm
Earth Distance in km: 2026/08/13 290,686,701 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/08/12 291,375,225 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/08/11 292,057,057 (decreasing)
6<#

Maximum Earth-Mars distance is estimated to be 401 million kilometers (both at apogee and opposite vs Sun) Minimum is about 56 million kilometers
Mars and Earth were in Opposition (Earth center) in December of 2022. The date coincided with a (very rare) occultation of Mars by the Moon.
Mars and Earth were in Conjunction (Sun center) in November of 2023.
Mars and Earth appear to have been as close as they will get in Year 36. 81,454,323 kilometers on J0036644 Time: 4.53 minutes - 9 minutes round trip

In his online interview with Dr. Zubrin at the 2020 Mars Conference, Elon Musk reminded the audience that communications with Mars will necessarily include an intermediary station to handle traffic when the Sun is between Mars and Earth. Communications delays in that circumstance will increase due to the extra distance to be covered. Mr. Musk indicated he expects such communication will be handled by laser. Location would be optimum at poles of solar plane.

This web site offers an online model of the solar system: www.solarsystemscope.com

This web site offers an online orrery view of the Solar System: https://www.theplanetstoday.com/

===
Sol 622 is in Month 23 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary. <<< 595 is skip day on Mars
Month 23 extends from Sol 614 through 651. <<== There are 28 days in Month 23. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php ... 57#p154257
Sol 622 is Monday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 595 Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 632 of Year 38 595
##

The Next New Year's on Mars will occur when Solar Longitude reaches 360 degrees. Year 38 started November 12, 2024 on Earth
Per www.planetary.org Year 36 started 2021/02/07 on Earth. Mars Year 37 began 2022/12/27 on Earth.

Days of the Week Alignment:
Days of the week fall behind Earth due to the longer Sol, but they also change when Friday is omitted at the end of a Quarter
337 Earth days were observed to elapse in the 2020 weekday cycle. There were 7 week day transitions and 2 Quarter ends.
The next cycle began on the first Sol of the period of coincidence. The alignment of weekdays interval is in the range: (310 - 337)
To find the first day of a period of coincidence: Set up: SearchTerm(colon) and (colon)Alignment and J0036* or J0037*
The most recent End-Of-Quarter change occurred: … The search specified above gave 11 pages of results.

For current weather on Mars see:

***https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/weather/***
***Insight's weather info has been suspended and now is directing to msl*** <<-- Insight's mission is over (2022)

https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/weather/

Per SpaceNut: Here is another web page by NASA containing the latest news releases

https://mars.nasa.gov/news/?page=0&per_ ... ope=Latest

All forum members are invited to post significant events for this day.
Events of interest will be ON Mars, or relate to Mars. Examples are launches, landings, discoveries

Standard Month in Mars Business Calendar Copyright ® 2023 NewMars.com Mars Society
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Recruiting text may be found at the bottom of this post: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php ... 57#p154257
Copyright the Mars Society All Rights Reserved

Month 23 of 24: <<== Fifth month of Quarter 4 Note start of Astromical Month 12 in Year 38

Post by **tahanson43206** » Wed Aug 12, 2026 4:27 pm

===
Today on Mars: 0038/23/08 Sunday Days of the week OFFSET 3 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth )
Sol 621 Business Month 23 Fourth month of Quarter 4 of Year 38
Today on Earth: 2026/08/12 Wednesday Earth Date)
>16

To see how this calendar works, we show the standard 28 day month at the bottom of this daily report.
There are 20 months of 28 Sols and 4 months of 27 Sols at the end of the four six-month quarters.
New Years Eve is extended to align the Business Calendar for Mars with the Astronomical calendar.
Business and Astronomical both start at zero (to the nanosecond) on New Year's Day.
This calendar has been in operation for two full Mars years (36 and 37). We are in Year 38

This calendar is NOT the Darian Calendar!

Per http://www-mars.lmd.jussieu.fr/mars/tim ... _time.html also see: in-the-sky.org for opposition/perigee/aphelion

Martian Year: 38 Martian Astronomical Interval in 12 interval format: 12 <<== The Astronomical interval
Check Longitude: the interval will increment when longitude reaches 360 degrees

===
Solar Longitude: 334.2 Sol Number: 621 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038621
Solar Longitude: 333.6 Sol Number: 620 Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0038620
Solar Longitude: 333.1 Sol Number: 619 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038619
#4>

Note that Solar Longitude measurement varies as a function of location in orbit. Ls 0 is the moment when the Sun appears to transit from one hemisphere to the other. Update from Mars.NASA.gov (The Sun crosses the equator of Mars (Vernal Equinox)). The transition itself is a function of the tilt of an object with respect to the Solar plane. Per squarewidget.com, Hipparchus created the celestial coordinate system we use today.

Note#2: https://theskylive.com/mars-tracker This web site shows the astronomical position of Mars as seen from Earth
Todo: At next Aphelion/Perihelion record the Mars date as J00##### (and set Search term)
Perihelion occurred in 2026 at Ls 251 on Sol 486 - Earth Date 2026/03/27 Next: (estimated) 2028/05/15
Perihelion occurred in 2024 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2024/05/08 Next: (estimated) 2026/03/06 (actual) 2026/03/26
Perihelion occurred in 2022 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2022/06/21 Next: (actual) 2024/05/08
Aphelion Earth Dates: Next: 2027/03/04 Earlier: 2025/04/16, 2023/05/30, 2021/07/12, 2019/08/25, 2017/10/07, 2015/11/20
Aphelion occurred at--- Ls 071 on Sol 152.
Aphelion occurred near Ls 070 on Sol 153 (per http://www.planetary.org)

Note#3: The computations below are dependent upon both the computations provided by the reference web site and by accuracy of recording of the time of observations. The calculations use tenths of hours. The Sun Distance needs to be captured at the moment the time increments to a given tenth.

Note on data below: The figure quoted after distance is a rate of progress along the orbital path [exact meaning to be determined]
Minus prefix means Mars is approaching the Sun. Plus prefix means Mars is moving away from the Sun.
The figure computed to the right of "Difference" is the rate of change of the distance to Sun. Increasing to Aphelion/Decreasing to Perihelion.

Aphelion of Mars is due March 04, 2027 Sol 151-152 Note velocity of Mars was 22.0 km/s nearing Aphelion (21.97 km/s)
Perhelion of Mars is due May, 2028 Sol 251 Note velocity of Mars was 26.5 km/s nearing Perhelion 2026/03/26

===
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 223,571,201 km [24.6 km/s] Difference is +194250 <= +8094 km/hour at 12.0 on 08/12 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 223,376,951 km [24.6 km/s] Difference is +194056 <= +8086 km/hour at 12.0 on 08/11 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 223,182,895 km [24.6 km/s] Difference is +193766 <= +8074 km/hour at 12.0 on 08/10 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
>13

Velocity along the orbit is NOT the same thing as velocity change of the radial distance to the Sun. Both are shown in the section above.
Observation: The sky view is ** filled ** with objects and some have been recorded and given identification by humans or their robot assistants
And! ** All ** the location assignments are from the perspective of Earth. The entire catalog needs to be adjusted when inter-stellar travel begins
The work that lies ahead for the astronomical community is daunting - there is work ahead for centuries
2022/01/19 - All current (existing) stellar catalogs are computed with reference to the Earth. Another civilization would use it's planet as reference.
Perhaps a Milky Way frame of reference will become necessary at some point. The Earth is as good a Zero point as any, for humans.

=== Mars is in Regular movement as seen from Earth.
Mars is in Taurus
Next ahead: Star in path TYC 1864-1748-1 RA 06h 03m 49.7s
Two bright TYC’s in/above path: TYC 1864-564-1 RA 6h 01m 29.2s Day 2 above 4.5 hours marker
14>

Zoom Out Capability As a general observation ... I've become increasingly interested in knowing what the larger view of the sky might be like.
The site: theskylive.com does a terrific job of matching the view from Earth towards Mars, against a background of actual astronomical plates.
I wish there were a way (or rather, I wish I ** knew ** about a way that may exist) to enlarge the view until the entire galaxy is in view (Zoom out)
Update 2022/12/08 TheSkyLive.com provides a large view of selected objects: Select [Major Bodies] Then select [Information] in the body of interest
Update 2022/12/08 Scroll down to (body) Position and Finder Charts. Field of view is 50x30 degrees.

Light travel in one second is (about) 300,000 kilometers. The distance covered in one minute is about 18,000,000 kilometers. Estimated light times:
1:18,2:36,3:54,4:72,5:90,6:108,7:126,8:144,9:162,10:180,11:198,12:216,13:234,14:252,15:270,16:288,17:306,18:324, 19:342,20:360,21:378,22:396

Light travel time today is between 17 and 18 minutes. Communications delay would be 34+ minutes round trip.

=== Time estimate will change below 288 megaKm
Earth Distance in km: 2026/08/12 291,375,225 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/08/11 292,057,057 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/08/10 292,732,363 (decreasing)
6<#

Maximum Earth-Mars distance is estimated to be 401 million kilometers (both at apogee and opposite vs Sun) Minimum is about 56 million kilometers
Mars and Earth were in Opposition (Earth center) in December of 2022. The date coincided with a (very rare) occultation of Mars by the Moon.
Mars and Earth were in Conjunction (Sun center) in November of 2023.
Mars and Earth appear to have been as close as they will get in Year 36. 81,454,323 kilometers on J0036644 Time: 4.53 minutes - 9 minutes round trip

In his online interview with Dr. Zubrin at the 2020 Mars Conference, Elon Musk reminded the audience that communications with Mars will necessarily include an intermediary station to handle traffic when the Sun is between Mars and Earth. Communications delays in that circumstance will increase due to the extra distance to be covered. Mr. Musk indicated he expects such communication will be handled by laser. Location would be optimum at poles of solar plane.

This web site offers an online model of the solar system: www.solarsystemscope.com

This web site offers an online orrery view of the Solar System: https://www.theplanetstoday.com/

===
Sol 621 is in Month 23 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary. <<< 595 is skip day on Mars
Month 23 extends from Sol 614 through 651. <<== There are 28 days in Month 23. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php ... 57#p154257
Sol 621 is Sunday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 595 Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 632 of Year 38 595
##

The Next New Year's on Mars will occur when Solar Longitude reaches 360 degrees. Year 38 started November 12, 2024 on Earth
Per www.planetary.org Year 36 started 2021/02/07 on Earth. Mars Year 37 began 2022/12/27 on Earth.

Days of the Week Alignment:
Days of the week fall behind Earth due to the longer Sol, but they also change when Friday is omitted at the end of a Quarter
337 Earth days were observed to elapse in the 2020 weekday cycle. There were 7 week day transitions and 2 Quarter ends.
The next cycle began on the first Sol of the period of coincidence. The alignment of weekdays interval is in the range: (310 - 337)
To find the first day of a period of coincidence: Set up: SearchTerm(colon) and (colon)Alignment and J0036* or J0037*
The most recent End-Of-Quarter change occurred: … The search specified above gave 11 pages of results.

For current weather on Mars see:

***https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/weather/***
***Insight's weather info has been suspended and now is directing to msl*** <<-- Insight's mission is over (2022)

https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/weather/

Per SpaceNut: Here is another web page by NASA containing the latest news releases

https://mars.nasa.gov/news/?page=0&per_ ... ope=Latest

All forum members are invited to post significant events for this day.
Events of interest will be ON Mars, or relate to Mars. Examples are launches, landings, discoveries

Standard Month in Mars Business Calendar Copyright ® 2023 NewMars.com Mars Society
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Recruiting text may be found at the bottom of this post: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php ... 57#p154257
Copyright the Mars Society All Rights Reserved

Month 23 of 24: <<== Fifth month of Quarter 4 Note start of Astromical Month 12 in Year 38

Post by **tahanson43206** » Tue Aug 11, 2026 3:58 pm

===
Today on Mars: 0038/23/07 Saturday Days of the week OFFSET 3 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth )
Sol 620 Business Month 23 Fourth month of Quarter 4 of Year 38
Today on Earth: 2026/08/11 Tuesday Earth Date)
>16

To see how this calendar works, we show the standard 28 day month at the bottom of this daily report.
There are 20 months of 28 Sols and 4 months of 27 Sols at the end of the four six-month quarters.
New Years Eve is extended to align the Business Calendar for Mars with the Astronomical calendar.
Business and Astronomical both start at zero (to the nanosecond) on New Year's Day.
This calendar has been in operation for two full Mars years (36 and 37). We are in Year 38

This calendar is NOT the Darian Calendar!

Per http://www-mars.lmd.jussieu.fr/mars/tim ... _time.html also see: in-the-sky.org for opposition/perigee/aphelion

Martian Year: 38 Martian Astronomical Interval in 12 interval format: 12 <<== The Astronomical interval
Check Longitude: the interval will increment when longitude reaches 360 degrees

===
Solar Longitude: 333.6 Sol Number: 620 Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0038620
Solar Longitude: 333.1 Sol Number: 619 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038619
Solar Longitude: 332.5 Sol Number: 618 Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0038618
#4>

Note that Solar Longitude measurement varies as a function of location in orbit. Ls 0 is the moment when the Sun appears to transit from one hemisphere to the other. Update from Mars.NASA.gov (The Sun crosses the equator of Mars (Vernal Equinox)). The transition itself is a function of the tilt of an object with respect to the Solar plane. Per squarewidget.com, Hipparchus created the celestial coordinate system we use today.

Note#2: https://theskylive.com/mars-tracker This web site shows the astronomical position of Mars as seen from Earth
Todo: At next Aphelion/Perihelion record the Mars date as J00##### (and set Search term)
Perihelion occurred in 2026 at Ls 251 on Sol 486 - Earth Date 2026/03/27 Next: (estimated) 2028/05/15
Perihelion occurred in 2024 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2024/05/08 Next: (estimated) 2026/03/06 (actual) 2026/03/26
Perihelion occurred in 2022 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2022/06/21 Next: (actual) 2024/05/08
Aphelion Earth Dates: Next: 2027/03/04 Earlier: 2025/04/16, 2023/05/30, 2021/07/12, 2019/08/25, 2017/10/07, 2015/11/20
Aphelion occurred at--- Ls 071 on Sol 152.
Aphelion occurred near Ls 070 on Sol 153 (per http://www.planetary.org)

Note#3: The computations below are dependent upon both the computations provided by the reference web site and by accuracy of recording of the time of observations. The calculations use tenths of hours. The Sun Distance needs to be captured at the moment the time increments to a given tenth.

Note on data below: The figure quoted after distance is a rate of progress along the orbital path [exact meaning to be determined]
Minus prefix means Mars is approaching the Sun. Plus prefix means Mars is moving away from the Sun.
The figure computed to the right of "Difference" is the rate of change of the distance to Sun. Increasing to Aphelion/Decreasing to Perihelion.

Aphelion of Mars is due March 04, 2027 Sol 151-152 Note velocity of Mars was 22.0 km/s nearing Aphelion (21.97 km/s)
Perhelion of Mars is due May, 2028 Sol 251 Note velocity of Mars was 26.5 km/s nearing Perhelion 2026/03/26

===
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 223,376,951 km [24.6 km/s] Difference is +194056 <= +8086 km/hour at 12.0 on 08/11 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 223,182,895 km [24.6 km/s] Difference is +193766 <= +8074 km/hour at 12.0 on 08/10 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 222,989,129 km [24.7 km/s] Difference is +193512 <= +8063 km/hour at 12.0 on 08/09 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
>13

Velocity along the orbit is NOT the same thing as velocity change of the radial distance to the Sun. Both are shown in the section above.
Observation: The sky view is ** filled ** with objects and some have been recorded and given identification by humans or their robot assistants
And! ** All ** the location assignments are from the perspective of Earth. The entire catalog needs to be adjusted when inter-stellar travel begins
The work that lies ahead for the astronomical community is daunting - there is work ahead for centuries
2022/01/19 - All current (existing) stellar catalogs are computed with reference to the Earth. Another civilization would use it's planet as reference.
Perhaps a Milky Way frame of reference will become necessary at some point. The Earth is as good a Zero point as any, for humans.

=== Mars is in Regular movement as seen from Earth.
Mars is in Taurus
Next ahead: Two bright TYC’s in/above path: TYC 1864-564-1 RA 6h 01m 29.2s
bright TYC Magnitude m7.67 TYC 1863-1257-1 Day 2 5 hours past marker
14>

Zoom Out Capability As a general observation ... I've become increasingly interested in knowing what the larger view of the sky might be like.
The site: theskylive.com does a terrific job of matching the view from Earth towards Mars, against a background of actual astronomical plates.
I wish there were a way (or rather, I wish I ** knew ** about a way that may exist) to enlarge the view until the entire galaxy is in view (Zoom out)
Update 2022/12/08 TheSkyLive.com provides a large view of selected objects: Select [Major Bodies] Then select [Information] in the body of interest
Update 2022/12/08 Scroll down to (body) Position and Finder Charts. Field of view is 50x30 degrees.

Light travel in one second is (about) 300,000 kilometers. The distance covered in one minute is about 18,000,000 kilometers. Estimated light times:
1:18,2:36,3:54,4:72,5:90,6:108,7:126,8:144,9:162,10:180,11:198,12:216,13:234,14:252,15:270,16:288,17:306,18:324, 19:342,20:360,21:378,22:396

Light travel time today is between 17 and 18 minutes. Communications delay would be 34+ minutes round trip.

=== Time estimate will change below 288 megaKm
Earth Distance in km: 2026/08/11 292,057,057 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/08/10 292,732,363 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/08/09 293,400,888 (decreasing)
6<#

Maximum Earth-Mars distance is estimated to be 401 million kilometers (both at apogee and opposite vs Sun) Minimum is about 56 million kilometers
Mars and Earth were in Opposition (Earth center) in December of 2022. The date coincided with a (very rare) occultation of Mars by the Moon.
Mars and Earth were in Conjunction (Sun center) in November of 2023.
Mars and Earth appear to have been as close as they will get in Year 36. 81,454,323 kilometers on J0036644 Time: 4.53 minutes - 9 minutes round trip

In his online interview with Dr. Zubrin at the 2020 Mars Conference, Elon Musk reminded the audience that communications with Mars will necessarily include an intermediary station to handle traffic when the Sun is between Mars and Earth. Communications delays in that circumstance will increase due to the extra distance to be covered. Mr. Musk indicated he expects such communication will be handled by laser. Location would be optimum at poles of solar plane.

This web site offers an online model of the solar system: www.solarsystemscope.com

This web site offers an online orrery view of the Solar System: https://www.theplanetstoday.com/

===
Sol 620 is in Month 23 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary. <<< 595 is skip day on Mars
Month 23 extends from Sol 614 through 651. <<== There are 28 days in Month 23. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php ... 57#p154257
Sol 620 is Saturday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 595 Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 632 of Year 38 595
##

The Next New Year's on Mars will occur when Solar Longitude reaches 360 degrees. Year 38 started November 12, 2024 on Earth
Per www.planetary.org Year 36 started 2021/02/07 on Earth. Mars Year 37 began 2022/12/27 on Earth.

Days of the Week Alignment:
Days of the week fall behind Earth due to the longer Sol, but they also change when Friday is omitted at the end of a Quarter
337 Earth days were observed to elapse in the 2020 weekday cycle. There were 7 week day transitions and 2 Quarter ends.
The next cycle began on the first Sol of the period of coincidence. The alignment of weekdays interval is in the range: (310 - 337)
To find the first day of a period of coincidence: Set up: SearchTerm(colon) and (colon)Alignment and J0036* or J0037*
The most recent End-Of-Quarter change occurred: … The search specified above gave 11 pages of results.

For current weather on Mars see:

***https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/weather/***
***Insight's weather info has been suspended and now is directing to msl*** <<-- Insight's mission is over (2022)

https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/weather/

Per SpaceNut: Here is another web page by NASA containing the latest news releases

https://mars.nasa.gov/news/?page=0&per_ ... ope=Latest

All forum members are invited to post significant events for this day.
Events of interest will be ON Mars, or relate to Mars. Examples are launches, landings, discoveries

Standard Month in Mars Business Calendar Copyright ® 2023 NewMars.com Mars Society
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Recruiting text may be found at the bottom of this post: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php ... 57#p154257
Copyright the Mars Society All Rights Reserved

Month 23 of 24: <<== Fifth month of Quarter 4 Note start of Astromical Month 12 in Year 38

Post by **tahanson43206** » Mon Aug 10, 2026 6:34 pm

===
Today on Mars: 0038/23/06 Friday Days of the week OFFSET 3 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth )
Sol 619 Business Month 23 Fourth month of Quarter 4 of Year 38
Today on Earth: 2026/08/10 Monday Earth Date)
>16

To see how this calendar works, we show the standard 28 day month at the bottom of this daily report.
There are 20 months of 28 Sols and 4 months of 27 Sols at the end of the four six-month quarters.
New Years Eve is extended to align the Business Calendar for Mars with the Astronomical calendar.
Business and Astronomical both start at zero (to the nanosecond) on New Year's Day.
This calendar has been in operation for two full Mars years (36 and 37). We are in Year 38

This calendar is NOT the Darian Calendar!

Per http://www-mars.lmd.jussieu.fr/mars/tim ... _time.html also see: in-the-sky.org for opposition/perigee/aphelion

Martian Year: 38 Martian Astronomical Interval in 12 interval format: 12 <<== The Astronomical interval
Check Longitude: the interval will increment when longitude reaches 360 degrees

===
Solar Longitude: 333.1 Sol Number: 619 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038619
Solar Longitude: 332.5 Sol Number: 618 Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0038618
Solar Longitude: 332.0 Sol Number: 617 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038617
#4>

Note that Solar Longitude measurement varies as a function of location in orbit. Ls 0 is the moment when the Sun appears to transit from one hemisphere to the other. Update from Mars.NASA.gov (The Sun crosses the equator of Mars (Vernal Equinox)). The transition itself is a function of the tilt of an object with respect to the Solar plane. Per squarewidget.com, Hipparchus created the celestial coordinate system we use today.

Note#2: https://theskylive.com/mars-tracker This web site shows the astronomical position of Mars as seen from Earth
Todo: At next Aphelion/Perihelion record the Mars date as J00##### (and set Search term)
Perihelion occurred in 2026 at Ls 251 on Sol 486 - Earth Date 2026/03/27 Next: (estimated) 2028/05/15
Perihelion occurred in 2024 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2024/05/08 Next: (estimated) 2026/03/06 (actual) 2026/03/26
Perihelion occurred in 2022 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2022/06/21 Next: (actual) 2024/05/08
Aphelion Earth Dates: Next: 2027/03/04 Earlier: 2025/04/16, 2023/05/30, 2021/07/12, 2019/08/25, 2017/10/07, 2015/11/20
Aphelion occurred at--- Ls 071 on Sol 152.
Aphelion occurred near Ls 070 on Sol 153 (per http://www.planetary.org)

Note#3: The computations below are dependent upon both the computations provided by the reference web site and by accuracy of recording of the time of observations. The calculations use tenths of hours. The Sun Distance needs to be captured at the moment the time increments to a given tenth.

Note on data below: The figure quoted after distance is a rate of progress along the orbital path [exact meaning to be determined]
Minus prefix means Mars is approaching the Sun. Plus prefix means Mars is moving away from the Sun.
The figure computed to the right of "Difference" is the rate of change of the distance to Sun. Increasing to Aphelion/Decreasing to Perihelion.

Aphelion of Mars is due March 04, 2027 Sol 151-152 Note velocity of Mars was 22.0 km/s nearing Aphelion (21.97 km/s)
Perhelion of Mars is due May, 2028 Sol 251 Note velocity of Mars was 26.5 km/s nearing Perhelion 2026/03/26

===
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 223,182,895 km [24.6 km/s] Difference is +193766 <= +8074 km/hour at 12.0 on 08/10 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 222,989,129 km [24.7 km/s] Difference is +193512 <= +8063 km/hour at 12.0 on 08/09 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 222,795,617 km [24.7 km/s] Difference is +193253 <= +8052 km/hour at 12.0 on 08/08 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
>13

Velocity along the orbit is NOT the same thing as velocity change of the radial distance to the Sun. Both are shown in the section above.
Observation: The sky view is ** filled ** with objects and some have been recorded and given identification by humans or their robot assistants
And! ** All ** the location assignments are from the perspective of Earth. The entire catalog needs to be adjusted when inter-stellar travel begins
The work that lies ahead for the astronomical community is daunting - there is work ahead for centuries
2022/01/19 - All current (existing) stellar catalogs are computed with reference to the Earth. Another civilization would use it's planet as reference.
Perhaps a Milky Way frame of reference will become necessary at some point. The Earth is as good a Zero point as any, for humans.

=== Mars is in Regular movement as seen from Earth.
Mars is in Taurus
Next ahead: bright TYC Magnitude m7.67 TYC 1863-1257-1
six stars forum a V shape in the path: TYC 1863-1535-1 RA 05h 56m 21.3s Day 2 just past Mars
theskylive.com went offline for maintenance and it is back up with objects showing as usual. Thank you!
14>

Zoom Out Capability As a general observation ... I've become increasingly interested in knowing what the larger view of the sky might be like.
The site: theskylive.com does a terrific job of matching the view from Earth towards Mars, against a background of actual astronomical plates.
I wish there were a way (or rather, I wish I ** knew ** about a way that may exist) to enlarge the view until the entire galaxy is in view (Zoom out)
Update 2022/12/08 TheSkyLive.com provides a large view of selected objects: Select [Major Bodies] Then select [Information] in the body of interest
Update 2022/12/08 Scroll down to (body) Position and Finder Charts. Field of view is 50x30 degrees.

Light travel in one second is (about) 300,000 kilometers. The distance covered in one minute is about 18,000,000 kilometers. Estimated light times:
1:18,2:36,3:54,4:72,5:90,6:108,7:126,8:144,9:162,10:180,11:198,12:216,13:234,14:252,15:270,16:288,17:306,18:324, 19:342,20:360,21:378,22:396

Light travel time today is between 17 and 18 minutes. Communications delay would be 34+ minutes round trip.

=== Time estimate will change below 288 megaKm
Earth Distance in km: 2026/08/10 292,732,363 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/08/09 293,400,888 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/08/08 294,062,838 (decreasing)
6<#

Maximum Earth-Mars distance is estimated to be 401 million kilometers (both at apogee and opposite vs Sun) Minimum is about 56 million kilometers
Mars and Earth were in Opposition (Earth center) in December of 2022. The date coincided with a (very rare) occultation of Mars by the Moon.
Mars and Earth were in Conjunction (Sun center) in November of 2023.
Mars and Earth appear to have been as close as they will get in Year 36. 81,454,323 kilometers on J0036644 Time: 4.53 minutes - 9 minutes round trip

In his online interview with Dr. Zubrin at the 2020 Mars Conference, Elon Musk reminded the audience that communications with Mars will necessarily include an intermediary station to handle traffic when the Sun is between Mars and Earth. Communications delays in that circumstance will increase due to the extra distance to be covered. Mr. Musk indicated he expects such communication will be handled by laser. Location would be optimum at poles of solar plane.

This web site offers an online model of the solar system: www.solarsystemscope.com

This web site offers an online orrery view of the Solar System: https://www.theplanetstoday.com/

===
Sol 619 is in Month 23 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary. <<< 595 is skip day on Mars
Month 23 extends from Sol 614 through 651. <<== There are 28 days in Month 23. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php ... 57#p154257
Sol 619 is Friday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 595 Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 632 of Year 38 595
##

The Next New Year's on Mars will occur when Solar Longitude reaches 360 degrees. Year 38 started November 12, 2024 on Earth
Per www.planetary.org Year 36 started 2021/02/07 on Earth. Mars Year 37 began 2022/12/27 on Earth.

Days of the Week Alignment:
Days of the week fall behind Earth due to the longer Sol, but they also change when Friday is omitted at the end of a Quarter
337 Earth days were observed to elapse in the 2020 weekday cycle. There were 7 week day transitions and 2 Quarter ends.
The next cycle began on the first Sol of the period of coincidence. The alignment of weekdays interval is in the range: (310 - 337)
To find the first day of a period of coincidence: Set up: SearchTerm(colon) and (colon)Alignment and J0036* or J0037*
The most recent End-Of-Quarter change occurred: … The search specified above gave 11 pages of results.

For current weather on Mars see:

***https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/weather/***
***Insight's weather info has been suspended and now is directing to msl*** <<-- Insight's mission is over (2022)

https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/weather/

Per SpaceNut: Here is another web page by NASA containing the latest news releases

https://mars.nasa.gov/news/?page=0&per_ ... ope=Latest

All forum members are invited to post significant events for this day.
Events of interest will be ON Mars, or relate to Mars. Examples are launches, landings, discoveries

Standard Month in Mars Business Calendar Copyright ® 2023 NewMars.com Mars Society
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Recruiting text may be found at the bottom of this post: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php ... 57#p154257
Copyright the Mars Society All Rights Reserved

Month 23 of 24: <<== Fifth month of Quarter 4 Note start of Astromical Month 12 in Year 38

Post by **tahanson43206** » Sun Aug 09, 2026 11:20 pm

===
Today on Mars: 0038/23/05 Thursday Days of the week OFFSET 3 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth )
Sol 618 Business Month 23 Fourth month of Quarter 4 of Year 38
Today on Earth: 2026/08/09 Sunday Earth Date)
>16

To see how this calendar works, we show the standard 28 day month at the bottom of this daily report.
There are 20 months of 28 Sols and 4 months of 27 Sols at the end of the four six-month quarters.
New Years Eve is extended to align the Business Calendar for Mars with the Astronomical calendar.
Business and Astronomical both start at zero (to the nanosecond) on New Year's Day.
This calendar has been in operation for two full Mars years (36 and 37). We are in Year 38

This calendar is NOT the Darian Calendar!

Per http://www-mars.lmd.jussieu.fr/mars/tim ... _time.html also see: in-the-sky.org for opposition/perigee/aphelion

Martian Year: 38 Martian Astronomical Interval in 12 interval format: 12 <<== The Astronomical interval
Check Longitude: the interval will increment when longitude reaches 360 degrees

===

Solar Longitude: 332.5 Sol Number: 618 Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0038618
Solar Longitude: 332.0 Sol Number: 617 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038617
Solar Longitude: 331.4 Sol Number: 616 Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0038616
#4>

Note that Solar Longitude measurement varies as a function of location in orbit. Ls 0 is the moment when the Sun appears to transit from one hemisphere to the other. Update from Mars.NASA.gov (The Sun crosses the equator of Mars (Vernal Equinox)). The transition itself is a function of the tilt of an object with respect to the Solar plane. Per squarewidget.com, Hipparchus created the celestial coordinate system we use today.

Note#2: https://theskylive.com/mars-tracker This web site shows the astronomical position of Mars as seen from Earth
Todo: At next Aphelion/Perihelion record the Mars date as J00##### (and set Search term)
Perihelion occurred in 2026 at Ls 251 on Sol 486 - Earth Date 2026/03/27 Next: (estimated) 2028/05/15
Perihelion occurred in 2024 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2024/05/08 Next: (estimated) 2026/03/06 (actual) 2026/03/26
Perihelion occurred in 2022 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2022/06/21 Next: (actual) 2024/05/08
Aphelion Earth Dates: Next: 2027/03/04 Earlier: 2025/04/16, 2023/05/30, 2021/07/12, 2019/08/25, 2017/10/07, 2015/11/20
Aphelion occurred at--- Ls 071 on Sol 152.
Aphelion occurred near Ls 070 on Sol 153 (per http://www.planetary.org)

Note#3: The computations below are dependent upon both the computations provided by the reference web site and by accuracy of recording of the time of observations. The calculations use tenths of hours. The Sun Distance needs to be captured at the moment the time increments to a given tenth.

Note on data below: The figure quoted after distance is a rate of progress along the orbital path [exact meaning to be determined]
Minus prefix means Mars is approaching the Sun. Plus prefix means Mars is moving away from the Sun.
The figure computed to the right of "Difference" is the rate of change of the distance to Sun. Increasing to Aphelion/Decreasing to Perihelion.

Aphelion of Mars is due March 04, 2027 Sol 151-152 Note velocity of Mars was 22.0 km/s nearing Aphelion (21.97 km/s)
Perhelion of Mars is due May, 2028 Sol 251 Note velocity of Mars was 26.5 km/s nearing Perhelion 2026/03/26

===
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 222,989,129 km [24.7 km/s] Difference is +193512 <= +8063 km/hour at 12.0 on 08/09 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 222,795,617 km [24.7 km/s] Difference is +193253 <= +8052 km/hour at 12.0 on 08/08 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 222,602,364 km [24.7 km/s] Difference is +192994 <= +8041 km/hour at 12.0 on 08/07 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
>13
Velocity along the orbit is NOT the same thing as velocity change of the radial distance to the Sun. Both are shown in the section above.
j
Observation: The sky view is ** filled ** with objects and some have been recorded and given identification by humans or their robot assistants
And! ** All ** the location assignments are from the perspective of Earth. The entire catalog needs to be adjusted when inter-stellar travel begins
The work that lies ahead for the astronomical community is daunting - there is work ahead for centuries
2022/01/19 - All current (existing) stellar catalogs are computed with reference to the Earth. Another civilization would use it's planet as reference.
Perhaps a Milky Way frame of reference will become necessary at some point. The Earth is as good a Zero point as any, for humans.

=== Mars is in Regular movement as seen from Earth.
Mars is in Taurus
Next ahead: six stars forum a V shape in the path: TYC 1863-1535-1 RA 05h 56m 21.3s
theskylive.com went offline for maintenance and it is back up with objects showing as usual. Thank you!
14>

Zoom Out Capability As a general observation ... I've become increasingly interested in knowing what the larger view of the sky might be like.
The site: theskylive.com does a terrific job of matching the view from Earth towards Mars, against a background of actual astronomical plates.
I wish there were a way (or rather, I wish I ** knew ** about a way that may exist) to enlarge the view until the entire galaxy is in view (Zoom out)
Update 2022/12/08 TheSkyLive.com provides a large view of selected objects: Select [Major Bodies] Then select [Information] in the body of interest
Update 2022/12/08 Scroll down to (body) Position and Finder Charts. Field of view is 50x30 degrees.

Light travel in one second is (about) 300,000 kilometers. The distance covered in one minute is about 18,000,000 kilometers. Estimated light times:
1:18,2:36,3:54,4:72,5:90,6:108,7:126,8:144,9:162,10:180,11:198,12:216,13:234,14:252,15:270,16:288,17:306,18:324, 19:342,20:360,21:378,22:396

Light travel time today is between 17 and 18 minutes. Communications delay would be 34+ minutes round trip.

=== Time estimate will change below 288 megaKm
Earth Distance in km: 2026/08/09 293,400,888 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/08/08 294,062,838 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/08/07 294,718,298 (decreasing)
6<#

Maximum Earth-Mars distance is estimated to be 401 million kilometers (both at apogee and opposite vs Sun) Minimum is about 56 million kilometers
Mars and Earth were in Opposition (Earth center) in December of 2022. The date coincided with a (very rare) occultation of Mars by the Moon.
Mars and Earth were in Conjunction (Sun center) in November of 2023.
Mars and Earth appear to have been as close as they will get in Year 36. 81,454,323 kilometers on J0036644 Time: 4.53 minutes - 9 minutes round trip

In his online interview with Dr. Zubrin at the 2020 Mars Conference, Elon Musk reminded the audience that communications with Mars will necessarily include an intermediary station to handle traffic when the Sun is between Mars and Earth. Communications delays in that circumstance will increase due to the extra distance to be covered. Mr. Musk indicated he expects such communication will be handled by laser. Location would be optimum at poles of solar plane.

This web site offers an online model of the solar system: www.solarsystemscope.com

This web site offers an online orrery view of the Solar System: https://www.theplanetstoday.com/

===
Sol 618 is in Month 23 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary. <<< 595 is skip day on Mars
Month 23 extends from Sol 614 through 651. <<== There are 28 days in Month 23. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php ... 57#p154257
Sol 618 is Thursday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 595 Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 632 of Year 38 595
##

The Next New Year's on Mars will occur when Solar Longitude reaches 360 degrees. Year 38 started November 12, 2024 on Earth
Per www.planetary.org Year 36 started 2021/02/07 on Earth. Mars Year 37 began 2022/12/27 on Earth.

Days of the Week Alignment:
Days of the week fall behind Earth due to the longer Sol, but they also change when Friday is omitted at the end of a Quarter
337 Earth days were observed to elapse in the 2020 weekday cycle. There were 7 week day transitions and 2 Quarter ends.
The next cycle began on the first Sol of the period of coincidence. The alignment of weekdays interval is in the range: (310 - 337)
To find the first day of a period of coincidence: Set up: SearchTerm(colon) and (colon)Alignment and J0036* or J0037*
The most recent End-Of-Quarter change occurred: … The search specified above gave 11 pages of results.

For current weather on Mars see:

***https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/weather/***
***Insight's weather info has been suspended and now is directing to msl*** <<-- Insight's mission is over (2022)

https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/weather/

Per SpaceNut: Here is another web page by NASA containing the latest news releases

https://mars.nasa.gov/news/?page=0&per_ ... ope=Latest

All forum members are invited to post significant events for this day.
Events of interest will be ON Mars, or relate to Mars. Examples are launches, landings, discoveries

Standard Month in Mars Business Calendar Copyright ® 2023 NewMars.com Mars Society
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Recruiting text may be found at the bottom of this post: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php ... 57#p154257
Copyright the Mars Society All Rights Reserved

Month 23 of 24: <<== Fifth month of Quarter 4 Note start of Astromical Month 12 in Year 38

Post by **tahanson43206** » Sat Aug 08, 2026 2:37 pm

===
Today on Mars: 0038/23/04 Wednesday Days of the week OFFSET 3 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth )
Sol 617 Business Month 23 Fourth month of Quarter 4 of Year 38
Today on Earth: 2026/08/08 Saturday Earth Date)
>16

To see how this calendar works, we show the standard 28 day month at the bottom of this daily report.
There are 20 months of 28 Sols and 4 months of 27 Sols at the end of the four six-month quarters.
New Years Eve is extended to align the Business Calendar for Mars with the Astronomical calendar.
Business and Astronomical both start at zero (to the nanosecond) on New Year's Day.
This calendar has been in operation for two full Mars years (36 and 37). We are in Year 38

This calendar is NOT the Darian Calendar!

Per http://www-mars.lmd.jussieu.fr/mars/tim ... _time.html also see: in-the-sky.org for opposition/perigee/aphelion

Martian Year: 38 Martian Astronomical Interval in 12 interval format: 12 <<== The Astronomical interval
Check Longitude: the interval will increment when longitude reaches 360 degrees

===
Solar Longitude: 332.0 Sol Number: 617 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038617
Solar Longitude: 331.4 Sol Number: 616 Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0038616
Solar Longitude: 330.9 Sol Number: 615 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038615
#4>

Note that Solar Longitude measurement varies as a function of location in orbit. Ls 0 is the moment when the Sun appears to transit from one hemisphere to the other. Update from Mars.NASA.gov (The Sun crosses the equator of Mars (Vernal Equinox)). The transition itself is a function of the tilt of an object with respect to the Solar plane. Per squarewidget.com, Hipparchus created the celestial coordinate system we use today.

Note#2: https://theskylive.com/mars-tracker This web site shows the astronomical position of Mars as seen from Earth
Todo: At next Aphelion/Perihelion record the Mars date as J00##### (and set Search term)
Perihelion occurred in 2026 at Ls 251 on Sol 486 - Earth Date 2026/03/27 Next: (estimated) 2028/05/15
Perihelion occurred in 2024 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2024/05/08 Next: (estimated) 2026/03/06 (actual) 2026/03/26
Perihelion occurred in 2022 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2022/06/21 Next: (actual) 2024/05/08
Aphelion Earth Dates: Next: 2027/03/04 Earlier: 2025/04/16, 2023/05/30, 2021/07/12, 2019/08/25, 2017/10/07, 2015/11/20
Aphelion occurred at--- Ls 071 on Sol 152.
Aphelion occurred near Ls 070 on Sol 153 (per http://www.planetary.org)

Note#3: The computations below are dependent upon both the computations provided by the reference web site and by accuracy of recording of the time of observations. The calculations use tenths of hours. The Sun Distance needs to be captured at the moment the time increments to a given tenth.

Note on data below: The figure quoted after distance is a rate of progress along the orbital path [exact meaning to be determined]
Minus prefix means Mars is approaching the Sun. Plus prefix means Mars is moving away from the Sun.
The figure computed to the right of "Difference" is the rate of change of the distance to Sun. Increasing to Aphelion/Decreasing to Perihelion.

Aphelion of Mars is due March 04, 2027 Sol 151-152 Note velocity of Mars was 22.0 km/s nearing Aphelion (21.97 km/s)
Perhelion of Mars is due May, 2028 Sol 251 Note velocity of Mars was 26.5 km/s nearing Perhelion 2026/03/26

===
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 222,795,617 km [24.7 km/s] Difference is +193253 <= +8052 km/hour at 12.0 on 08/08 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 222,602,364 km [24.7 km/s] Difference is +192994 <= +8041 km/hour at 12.0 on 08/07 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 222,409,370 km [24.7 km/s] Difference is +192633 <= +8026 km/hour at 12.0 on 08/06 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
>13
Velocity along the orbit is NOT the same thing as velocity change of the radial distance to the Sun. Both are shown in the section above.
j
Observation: The sky view is ** filled ** with objects and some have been recorded and given identification by humans or their robot assistants
And! ** All ** the location assignments are from the perspective of Earth. The entire catalog needs to be adjusted when inter-stellar travel begins
The work that lies ahead for the astronomical community is daunting - there is work ahead for centuries
2022/01/19 - All current (existing) stellar catalogs are computed with reference to the Earth. Another civilization would use it's planet as reference.
Perhaps a Milky Way frame of reference will become necessary at some point. The Earth is as good a Zero point as any, for humans.

=== Mars is in Regular movement as seen from Earth.
Mars is in Taurus
Next ahead: No report due to outage at theskylive.com (No reports for Mercury, Venus, Mars)
An email inquiry was entered 2026/08/08
14>

Zoom Out Capability As a general observation ... I've become increasingly interested in knowing what the larger view of the sky might be like.
The site: theskylive.com does a terrific job of matching the view from Earth towards Mars, against a background of actual astronomical plates.
I wish there were a way (or rather, I wish I ** knew ** about a way that may exist) to enlarge the view until the entire galaxy is in view (Zoom out)
Update 2022/12/08 TheSkyLive.com provides a large view of selected objects: Select [Major Bodies] Then select [Information] in the body of interest
Update 2022/12/08 Scroll down to (body) Position and Finder Charts. Field of view is 50x30 degrees.

Light travel in one second is (about) 300,000 kilometers. The distance covered in one minute is about 18,000,000 kilometers. Estimated light times:
1:18,2:36,3:54,4:72,5:90,6:108,7:126,8:144,9:162,10:180,11:198,12:216,13:234,14:252,15:270,16:288,17:306,18:324, 19:342,20:360,21:378,22:396

Light travel time today is between 17 and 18 minutes. Communications delay would be 34+ minutes round trip.

=== Time estimate will change below 288 megaKm
Earth Distance in km: 2026/08/08 294,062,838 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/08/07 294,718,298 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/08/06 295,367,379 (decreasing)
6<#

Maximum Earth-Mars distance is estimated to be 401 million kilometers (both at apogee and opposite vs Sun) Minimum is about 56 million kilometers
Mars and Earth were in Opposition (Earth center) in December of 2022. The date coincided with a (very rare) occultation of Mars by the Moon.
Mars and Earth were in Conjunction (Sun center) in November of 2023.
Mars and Earth appear to have been as close as they will get in Year 36. 81,454,323 kilometers on J0036644 Time: 4.53 minutes - 9 minutes round trip

In his online interview with Dr. Zubrin at the 2020 Mars Conference, Elon Musk reminded the audience that communications with Mars will necessarily include an intermediary station to handle traffic when the Sun is between Mars and Earth. Communications delays in that circumstance will increase due to the extra distance to be covered. Mr. Musk indicated he expects such communication will be handled by laser. Location would be optimum at poles of solar plane.

This web site offers an online model of the solar system: www.solarsystemscope.com

This web site offers an online orrery view of the Solar System: https://www.theplanetstoday.com/

===
Sol 617 is in Month 23 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary. <<< 595 is skip day on Mars
Month 23 extends from Sol 614 through 651. <<== There are 28 days in Month 23. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php ... 57#p154257
Sol 617 is Wednesday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 595 Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 632 of Year 38 595
##

The Next New Year's on Mars will occur when Solar Longitude reaches 360 degrees. Year 38 started November 12, 2024 on Earth
Per www.planetary.org Year 36 started 2021/02/07 on Earth. Mars Year 37 began 2022/12/27 on Earth.

Days of the Week Alignment:
Days of the week fall behind Earth due to the longer Sol, but they also change when Friday is omitted at the end of a Quarter
337 Earth days were observed to elapse in the 2020 weekday cycle. There were 7 week day transitions and 2 Quarter ends.
The next cycle began on the first Sol of the period of coincidence. The alignment of weekdays interval is in the range: (310 - 337)
To find the first day of a period of coincidence: Set up: SearchTerm(colon) and (colon)Alignment and J0036* or J0037*
The most recent End-Of-Quarter change occurred: … The search specified above gave 11 pages of results.

For current weather on Mars see:

***https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/weather/***
***Insight's weather info has been suspended and now is directing to msl*** <<-- Insight's mission is over (2022)

https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/weather/

Per SpaceNut: Here is another web page by NASA containing the latest news releases

https://mars.nasa.gov/news/?page=0&per_ ... ope=Latest

All forum members are invited to post significant events for this day.
Events of interest will be ON Mars, or relate to Mars. Examples are launches, landings, discoveries

Standard Month in Mars Business Calendar Copyright ® 2023 NewMars.com Mars Society
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Recruiting text may be found at the bottom of this post: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php ... 57#p154257
Copyright the Mars Society All Rights Reserved

Month 23 of 24: <<== Fifth month of Quarter 4 Note start of Astromical Month 12 in Year 38

Post by **tahanson43206** » Fri Aug 07, 2026 2:39 pm

===
Today on Mars: 0038/23/03 Tuesday Days of the week OFFSET 3 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth )
Sol 616 Business Month 23 Fourth month of Quarter 4 of Year 38
Today on Earth: 2026/08/07 Friday Earth Date)
>16

To see how this calendar works, we show the standard 28 day month at the bottom of this daily report.
There are 20 months of 28 Sols and 4 months of 27 Sols at the end of the four six-month quarters.
New Years Eve is extended to align the Business Calendar for Mars with the Astronomical calendar.
Business and Astronomical both start at zero (to the nanosecond) on New Year's Day.
This calendar has been in operation for two full Mars years (36 and 37). We are in Year 38

This calendar is NOT the Darian Calendar!

Per http://www-mars.lmd.jussieu.fr/mars/tim ... _time.html also see: in-the-sky.org for opposition/perigee/aphelion

Martian Year: 38 Martian Astronomical Interval in 12 interval format: 12 <<== The Astronomical interval
Check Longitude: the interval will increment when longitude reaches 360 degrees

===
Solar Longitude: 331.4 Sol Number: 616 Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0038616
Solar Longitude: 330.9 Sol Number: 615 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038615
Solar Longitude: 330.3 Sol Number: 614 Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0038614
#4>

Note that Solar Longitude measurement varies as a function of location in orbit. Ls 0 is the moment when the Sun appears to transit from one hemisphere to the other. Update from Mars.NASA.gov (The Sun crosses the equator of Mars (Vernal Equinox)). The transition itself is a function of the tilt of an object with respect to the Solar plane. Per squarewidget.com, Hipparchus created the celestial coordinate system we use today.

Note#2: https://theskylive.com/mars-tracker This web site shows the astronomical position of Mars as seen from Earth
Todo: At next Aphelion/Perihelion record the Mars date as J00##### (and set Search term)
Perihelion occurred in 2026 at Ls 251 on Sol 486 - Earth Date 2026/03/27 Next: (estimated) 2028/05/15
Perihelion occurred in 2024 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2024/05/08 Next: (estimated) 2026/03/06 (actual) 2026/03/26
Perihelion occurred in 2022 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2022/06/21 Next: (actual) 2024/05/08
Aphelion Earth Dates: Next: 2027/03/04 Earlier: 2025/04/16, 2023/05/30, 2021/07/12, 2019/08/25, 2017/10/07, 2015/11/20
Aphelion occurred at--- Ls 071 on Sol 152.
Aphelion occurred near Ls 070 on Sol 153 (per http://www.planetary.org)

Note#3: The computations below are dependent upon both the computations provided by the reference web site and by accuracy of recording of the time of observations. The calculations use tenths of hours. The Sun Distance needs to be captured at the moment the time increments to a given tenth.

Note on data below: The figure quoted after distance is a rate of progress along the orbital path [exact meaning to be determined]
Minus prefix means Mars is approaching the Sun. Plus prefix means Mars is moving away from the Sun.
The figure computed to the right of "Difference" is the rate of change of the distance to Sun. Increasing to Aphelion/Decreasing to Perihelion.

Aphelion of Mars is due March 04, 2027 Sol 151-152 Note velocity of Mars was 22.0 km/s nearing Aphelion (21.97 km/s)
Perhelion of Mars is due May, 2028 Sol 251 Note velocity of Mars was 26.5 km/s nearing Perhelion 2026/03/26

===
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 222,602,364 km [24.7 km/s] Difference is +192994 <= +8041 km/hour at 12.0 on 08/07 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 222,409,370 km [24.7 km/s] Difference is +192633 <= +8026 km/hour at 12.0 on 08/06 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 222,216,737 km [24.7 km/s] Difference is +192256 <= +8011 km/hour at 12.0 on 08/05 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
>13
Velocity along the orbit is NOT the same thing as velocity change of the radial distance to the Sun. Both are shown in the section above.
j
Observation: The sky view is ** filled ** with objects and some have been recorded and given identification by humans or their robot assistants
And! ** All ** the location assignments are from the perspective of Earth. The entire catalog needs to be adjusted when inter-stellar travel begins
The work that lies ahead for the astronomical community is daunting - there is work ahead for centuries
2022/01/19 - All current (existing) stellar catalogs are computed with reference to the Earth. Another civilization would use it's planet as reference.
Perhaps a Milky Way frame of reference will become necessary at some point. The Earth is as good a Zero point as any, for humans.

=== Mars is in Regular movement as seen from Earth.
Mars is in Taurus
Next ahead: No report due to outage at theskylive.com (No reports for Mercury, Venus, Mars)
Star below 9 hours marker TYC 1862-1457-1
Star in path TYC 1862-1218-1 RA 5h 43m 57.1s Day 2 past Mars near 4.5 hours
14>

Zoom Out Capability As a general observation ... I've become increasingly interested in knowing what the larger view of the sky might be like.
The site: theskylive.com does a terrific job of matching the view from Earth towards Mars, against a background of actual astronomical plates.
I wish there were a way (or rather, I wish I ** knew ** about a way that may exist) to enlarge the view until the entire galaxy is in view (Zoom out)
Update 2022/12/08 TheSkyLive.com provides a large view of selected objects: Select [Major Bodies] Then select [Information] in the body of interest
Update 2022/12/08 Scroll down to (body) Position and Finder Charts. Field of view is 50x30 degrees.

Light travel in one second is (about) 300,000 kilometers. The distance covered in one minute is about 18,000,000 kilometers. Estimated light times:
1:18,2:36,3:54,4:72,5:90,6:108,7:126,8:144,9:162,10:180,11:198,12:216,13:234,14:252,15:270,16:288,17:306,18:324, 19:342,20:360,21:378,22:396

Light travel time today is between 17 and 18 minutes. Communications delay would be 34+ minutes round trip.

=== Time estimate will change below 288 megaKm
Earth Distance in km: 2026/08/07 294,718,298 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/08/06 295,367,379 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/08/05 296,009,876 (decreasing)
6<#

Maximum Earth-Mars distance is estimated to be 401 million kilometers (both at apogee and opposite vs Sun) Minimum is about 56 million kilometers
Mars and Earth were in Opposition (Earth center) in December of 2022. The date coincided with a (very rare) occultation of Mars by the Moon.
Mars and Earth were in Conjunction (Sun center) in November of 2023.
Mars and Earth appear to have been as close as they will get in Year 36. 81,454,323 kilometers on J0036644 Time: 4.53 minutes - 9 minutes round trip

In his online interview with Dr. Zubrin at the 2020 Mars Conference, Elon Musk reminded the audience that communications with Mars will necessarily include an intermediary station to handle traffic when the Sun is between Mars and Earth. Communications delays in that circumstance will increase due to the extra distance to be covered. Mr. Musk indicated he expects such communication will be handled by laser. Location would be optimum at poles of solar plane.

This web site offers an online model of the solar system: www.solarsystemscope.com

This web site offers an online orrery view of the Solar System: https://www.theplanetstoday.com/

===
Sol 616 is in Month 23 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary. <<< 595 is skip day on Mars
Month 23 extends from Sol 614 through 651. <<== There are 28 days in Month 23. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php ... 57#p154257
Sol 616 is Tuesday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 595 Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 632 of Year 38 595
##

The Next New Year's on Mars will occur when Solar Longitude reaches 360 degrees. Year 38 started November 12, 2024 on Earth
Per www.planetary.org Year 36 started 2021/02/07 on Earth. Mars Year 37 began 2022/12/27 on Earth.

Days of the Week Alignment:
Days of the week fall behind Earth due to the longer Sol, but they also change when Friday is omitted at the end of a Quarter
337 Earth days were observed to elapse in the 2020 weekday cycle. There were 7 week day transitions and 2 Quarter ends.
The next cycle began on the first Sol of the period of coincidence. The alignment of weekdays interval is in the range: (310 - 337)
To find the first day of a period of coincidence: Set up: SearchTerm(colon) and (colon)Alignment and J0036* or J0037*
The most recent End-Of-Quarter change occurred: … The search specified above gave 11 pages of results.

For current weather on Mars see:

***https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/weather/***
***Insight's weather info has been suspended and now is directing to msl*** <<-- Insight's mission is over (2022)

https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/weather/

Per SpaceNut: Here is another web page by NASA containing the latest news releases

https://mars.nasa.gov/news/?page=0&per_ ... ope=Latest

All forum members are invited to post significant events for this day.
Events of interest will be ON Mars, or relate to Mars. Examples are launches, landings, discoveries

Standard Month in Mars Business Calendar Copyright ® 2023 NewMars.com Mars Society
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Recruiting text may be found at the bottom of this post: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php ... 57#p154257
Copyright the Mars Society All Rights Reserved

Month 23 of 24: <<== Fifth month of Quarter 4 Note start of Astromical Month 12 in Year 38

Post by **tahanson43206** » Thu Aug 06, 2026 12:33 pm

===
Today on Mars: 0038/23/02 Monday Days of the week OFFSET 3 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth )
Sol 615 Business Month 23 Fourth month of Quarter 4 of Year 38
Today on Earth: 2026/08/06 Thursday Earth Date)
>16

To see how this calendar works, we show the standard 28 day month at the bottom of this daily report.
There are 20 months of 28 Sols and 4 months of 27 Sols at the end of the four six-month quarters.
New Years Eve is extended to align the Business Calendar for Mars with the Astronomical calendar.
Business and Astronomical both start at zero (to the nanosecond) on New Year's Day.
This calendar has been in operation for two full Mars years (36 and 37). We are in Year 38

This calendar is NOT the Darian Calendar!

Per http://www-mars.lmd.jussieu.fr/mars/tim ... _time.html also see: in-the-sky.org for opposition/perigee/aphelion

Martian Year: 38 Martian Astronomical Interval in 12 interval format: 12 <<== The Astronomical interval
Check Longitude: the interval will increment when longitude reaches 360 degrees

===
Solar Longitude: 330.9 Sol Number: 615 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038615
Solar Longitude: 330.3 Sol Number: 614 Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0038614
Solar Longitude: 329.8 Sol Number: 613 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038613
#4>

Note that Solar Longitude measurement varies as a function of location in orbit. Ls 0 is the moment when the Sun appears to transit from one hemisphere to the other. Update from Mars.NASA.gov (The Sun crosses the equator of Mars (Vernal Equinox)). The transition itself is a function of the tilt of an object with respect to the Solar plane. Per squarewidget.com, Hipparchus created the celestial coordinate system we use today.

Note#2: https://theskylive.com/mars-tracker This web site shows the astronomical position of Mars as seen from Earth
Todo: At next Aphelion/Perihelion record the Mars date as J00##### (and set Search term)
Perihelion occurred in 2026 at Ls 251 on Sol 486 - Earth Date 2026/03/27 Next: (estimated) 2028/05/15
Perihelion occurred in 2024 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2024/05/08 Next: (estimated) 2026/03/06 (actual) 2026/03/26
Perihelion occurred in 2022 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2022/06/21 Next: (actual) 2024/05/08
Aphelion Earth Dates: Next: 2027/03/04 Earlier: 2025/04/16, 2023/05/30, 2021/07/12, 2019/08/25, 2017/10/07, 2015/11/20
Aphelion occurred at--- Ls 071 on Sol 152.
Aphelion occurred near Ls 070 on Sol 153 (per http://www.planetary.org)

Note#3: The computations below are dependent upon both the computations provided by the reference web site and by accuracy of recording of the time of observations. The calculations use tenths of hours. The Sun Distance needs to be captured at the moment the time increments to a given tenth.

Note on data below: The figure quoted after distance is a rate of progress along the orbital path [exact meaning to be determined]
Minus prefix means Mars is approaching the Sun. Plus prefix means Mars is moving away from the Sun.
The figure computed to the right of "Difference" is the rate of change of the distance to Sun. Increasing to Aphelion/Decreasing to Perihelion.

Aphelion of Mars is due March 04, 2027 Sol 151-152 Note velocity of Mars was 22.0 km/s nearing Aphelion (21.97 km/s)
Perhelion of Mars is due May, 2028 Sol 251 Note velocity of Mars was 26.5 km/s nearing Perhelion 2026/03/26

===
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 222,409,370 km [24.7 km/s] Difference is +192633 <= +8026 km/hour at 12.0 on 08/06 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 222,216,737 km [24.7 km/s] Difference is +192256 <= +8011 km/hour at 12.0 on 08/05 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 222,024,481 km [24.8 km/s] Difference is +191983 <= +7999 km/hour at 12.0 on 08/04 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
>13
Velocity along the orbit is NOT the same thing as velocity change of the radial distance to the Sun. Both are shown in the section above.
j
Observation: The sky view is ** filled ** with objects and some have been recorded and given identification by humans or their robot assistants
And! ** All ** the location assignments are from the perspective of Earth. The entire catalog needs to be adjusted when inter-stellar travel begins
The work that lies ahead for the astronomical community is daunting - there is work ahead for centuries
2022/01/19 - All current (existing) stellar catalogs are computed with reference to the Earth. Another civilization would use it's planet as reference.
Perhaps a Milky Way frame of reference will become necessary at some point. The Earth is as good a Zero point as any, for humans.

=== Mars is in Regular movement as seen from Earth.
Mars is in Taurus
Next ahead: Star below 9 hours marker TYC 1862-1457-1
Star in path TYC 1862-1218-1 RA 5h 43m 57.1s Day 2 past Mars near 4.5 hours
14>

Zoom Out Capability As a general observation ... I've become increasingly interested in knowing what the larger view of the sky might be like.
The site: theskylive.com does a terrific job of matching the view from Earth towards Mars, against a background of actual astronomical plates.
I wish there were a way (or rather, I wish I ** knew ** about a way that may exist) to enlarge the view until the entire galaxy is in view (Zoom out)
Update 2022/12/08 TheSkyLive.com provides a large view of selected objects: Select [Major Bodies] Then select [Information] in the body of interest
Update 2022/12/08 Scroll down to (body) Position and Finder Charts. Field of view is 50x30 degrees.

Light travel in one second is (about) 300,000 kilometers. The distance covered in one minute is about 18,000,000 kilometers. Estimated light times:
1:18,2:36,3:54,4:72,5:90,6:108,7:126,8:144,9:162,10:180,11:198,12:216,13:234,14:252,15:270,16:288,17:306,18:324, 19:342,20:360,21:378,22:396

Light travel time today is between 17 and 18 minutes. Communications delay would be 34+ minutes round trip.

=== Time estimate will change below 288 megaKm
Earth Distance in km: 2026/08/06 295,367,379 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/08/05 296,009,876 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/08/04 296,645,874 (decreasing)
6<#

Maximum Earth-Mars distance is estimated to be 401 million kilometers (both at apogee and opposite vs Sun) Minimum is about 56 million kilometers
Mars and Earth were in Opposition (Earth center) in December of 2022. The date coincided with a (very rare) occultation of Mars by the Moon.
Mars and Earth were in Conjunction (Sun center) in November of 2023.
Mars and Earth appear to have been as close as they will get in Year 36. 81,454,323 kilometers on J0036644 Time: 4.53 minutes - 9 minutes round trip

In his online interview with Dr. Zubrin at the 2020 Mars Conference, Elon Musk reminded the audience that communications with Mars will necessarily include an intermediary station to handle traffic when the Sun is between Mars and Earth. Communications delays in that circumstance will increase due to the extra distance to be covered. Mr. Musk indicated he expects such communication will be handled by laser. Location would be optimum at poles of solar plane.

This web site offers an online model of the solar system: www.solarsystemscope.com

This web site offers an online orrery view of the Solar System: https://www.theplanetstoday.com/

===
Sol 615 is in Month 23 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary. <<< 595 is skip day on Mars
Month 23 extends from Sol 614 through 651. <<== There are 28 days in Month 23. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php ... 57#p154257
Sol 615 is Monday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 595 Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 632 of Year 38 595
##

The Next New Year's on Mars will occur when Solar Longitude reaches 360 degrees. Year 38 started November 12, 2024 on Earth
Per www.planetary.org Year 36 started 2021/02/07 on Earth. Mars Year 37 began 2022/12/27 on Earth.

Days of the Week Alignment:
Days of the week fall behind Earth due to the longer Sol, but they also change when Friday is omitted at the end of a Quarter
337 Earth days were observed to elapse in the 2020 weekday cycle. There were 7 week day transitions and 2 Quarter ends.
The next cycle began on the first Sol of the period of coincidence. The alignment of weekdays interval is in the range: (310 - 337)
To find the first day of a period of coincidence: Set up: SearchTerm(colon) and (colon)Alignment and J0036* or J0037*
The most recent End-Of-Quarter change occurred: … The search specified above gave 11 pages of results.

For current weather on Mars see:

***https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/weather/***
***Insight's weather info has been suspended and now is directing to msl*** <<-- Insight's mission is over (2022)

https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/weather/

Per SpaceNut: Here is another web page by NASA containing the latest news releases

https://mars.nasa.gov/news/?page=0&per_ ... ope=Latest

All forum members are invited to post significant events for this day.
Events of interest will be ON Mars, or relate to Mars. Examples are launches, landings, discoveries

Standard Month in Mars Business Calendar Copyright ® 2023 NewMars.com Mars Society
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Recruiting text may be found at the bottom of this post: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php ... 57#p154257
Copyright the Mars Society All Rights Reserved

Month 23 of 24: <<== Fifth month of Quarter 4 Note start of Astromical Month 12 in Year 38

Post by **tahanson43206** » Wed Aug 05, 2026 8:20 pm

===
Today on Mars: 0038/23/01 Sunday Days of the week OFFSET 3 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth )
Sol 614 Business Month 23 Fourth month of Quarter 4 of Year 38
Today on Earth: 2026/08/05 Wednesday Earth Date)
>16

To see how this calendar works, we show the standard 28 day month at the bottom of this daily report.
There are 20 months of 28 Sols and 4 months of 27 Sols at the end of the four six-month quarters.
New Years Eve is extended to align the Business Calendar for Mars with the Astronomical calendar.
Business and Astronomical both start at zero (to the nanosecond) on New Year's Day.
This calendar has been in operation for two full Mars years (36 and 37). We are in Year 38

This calendar is NOT the Darian Calendar!

Per http://www-mars.lmd.jussieu.fr/mars/tim ... _time.html also see: in-the-sky.org for opposition/perigee/aphelion

Martian Year: 38 Martian Astronomical Interval in 12 interval format: 12 <<== The Astronomical interval
Check Longitude: the interval will increment when longitude reaches 360 degrees

===
Solar Longitude: 330.3 Sol Number: 614 Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0038614
Solar Longitude: 329.8 Sol Number: 613 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038613
Solar Longitude: 329.2 Sol Number: 612 Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0038612
#4>

Note that Solar Longitude measurement varies as a function of location in orbit. Ls 0 is the moment when the Sun appears to transit from one hemisphere to the other. Update from Mars.NASA.gov (The Sun crosses the equator of Mars (Vernal Equinox)). The transition itself is a function of the tilt of an object with respect to the Solar plane. Per squarewidget.com, Hipparchus created the celestial coordinate system we use today.

Note#2: https://theskylive.com/mars-tracker This web site shows the astronomical position of Mars as seen from Earth
Todo: At next Aphelion/Perihelion record the Mars date as J00##### (and set Search term)
Perihelion occurred in 2026 at Ls 251 on Sol 486 - Earth Date 2026/03/27 Next: (estimated) 2028/05/15
Perihelion occurred in 2024 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2024/05/08 Next: (estimated) 2026/03/06 (actual) 2026/03/26
Perihelion occurred in 2022 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2022/06/21 Next: (actual) 2024/05/08
Aphelion Earth Dates: Next: 2027/03/04 Earlier: 2025/04/16, 2023/05/30, 2021/07/12, 2019/08/25, 2017/10/07, 2015/11/20
Aphelion occurred at--- Ls 071 on Sol 152.
Aphelion occurred near Ls 070 on Sol 153 (per http://www.planetary.org)

Note#3: The computations below are dependent upon both the computations provided by the reference web site and by accuracy of recording of the time of observations. The calculations use tenths of hours. The Sun Distance needs to be captured at the moment the time increments to a given tenth.

Note on data below: The figure quoted after distance is a rate of progress along the orbital path [exact meaning to be determined]
Minus prefix means Mars is approaching the Sun. Plus prefix means Mars is moving away from the Sun.
The figure computed to the right of "Difference" is the rate of change of the distance to Sun. Increasing to Aphelion/Decreasing to Perihelion.

Aphelion of Mars is due March 04, 2027 Sol 151-152 Note velocity of Mars was 22.0 km/s nearing Aphelion (21.97 km/s)
Perhelion of Mars is due May, 2028 Sol 251 Note velocity of Mars was 26.5 km/s nearing Perhelion 2026/03/26

===
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 222,216,737 km [24.7 km/s] Difference is +192256 <= +8011 km/hour at 12.0 on 08/05 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 222,024,481 km [24.8 km/s] Difference is +191983 <= +7999 km/hour at 12.0 on 08/04 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 221,832,498 km [24.8 km/s] Difference is +191571 <= +7982 km/hour at 12.0 on 08/03 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
>13
Velocity along the orbit is NOT the same thing as velocity change of the radial distance to the Sun. Both are shown in the section above.
j
Observation: The sky view is ** filled ** with objects and some have been recorded and given identification by humans or their robot assistants
And! ** All ** the location assignments are from the perspective of Earth. The entire catalog needs to be adjusted when inter-stellar travel begins
The work that lies ahead for the astronomical community is daunting - there is work ahead for centuries
2022/01/19 - All current (existing) stellar catalogs are computed with reference to the Earth. Another civilization would use it's planet as reference.
Perhaps a Milky Way frame of reference will become necessary at some point. The Earth is as good a Zero point as any, for humans.

=== Mars is in Regular movement as seen from Earth.
Mars is in Taurus
Next ahead:Star in path TYC 1862-1218-1 RA 5h 43m 57.1s
trio of stars in path TYC 1861-1350-1 RA 5h 41m 08.1s Day 2 right at 9 hours marker
14>

Zoom Out Capability As a general observation ... I've become increasingly interested in knowing what the larger view of the sky might be like.
The site: theskylive.com does a terrific job of matching the view from Earth towards Mars, against a background of actual astronomical plates.
I wish there were a way (or rather, I wish I ** knew ** about a way that may exist) to enlarge the view until the entire galaxy is in view (Zoom out)
Update 2022/12/08 TheSkyLive.com provides a large view of selected objects: Select [Major Bodies] Then select [Information] in the body of interest
Update 2022/12/08 Scroll down to (body) Position and Finder Charts. Field of view is 50x30 degrees.

Light travel in one second is (about) 300,000 kilometers. The distance covered in one minute is about 18,000,000 kilometers. Estimated light times:
1:18,2:36,3:54,4:72,5:90,6:108,7:126,8:144,9:162,10:180,11:198,12:216,13:234,14:252,15:270,16:288,17:306,18:324, 19:342,20:360,21:378,22:396

Light travel time today is between 17 and 18 minutes. Communications delay would be 34+ minutes round trip.

=== Time estimate will change below 288 megaKm
Earth Distance in km: 2026/08/05 296,009,876 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/08/04 296,645,874 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/08/03 297,275,860 (decreasing)
6<#

Maximum Earth-Mars distance is estimated to be 401 million kilometers (both at apogee and opposite vs Sun) Minimum is about 56 million kilometers
Mars and Earth were in Opposition (Earth center) in December of 2022. The date coincided with a (very rare) occultation of Mars by the Moon.
Mars and Earth were in Conjunction (Sun center) in November of 2023.
Mars and Earth appear to have been as close as they will get in Year 36. 81,454,323 kilometers on J0036644 Time: 4.53 minutes - 9 minutes round trip

In his online interview with Dr. Zubrin at the 2020 Mars Conference, Elon Musk reminded the audience that communications with Mars will necessarily include an intermediary station to handle traffic when the Sun is between Mars and Earth. Communications delays in that circumstance will increase due to the extra distance to be covered. Mr. Musk indicated he expects such communication will be handled by laser. Location would be optimum at poles of solar plane.

This web site offers an online model of the solar system: www.solarsystemscope.com

This web site offers an online orrery view of the Solar System: https://www.theplanetstoday.com/

===
Sol 614 is in Month 23 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary. <<< 595 is skip day on Mars
Month 23 extends from Sol 614 through 651. <<== There are 28 days in Month 23. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php ... 57#p154257
Sol 614 is Sunday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 595 Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 632 of Year 38 595
##

The Next New Year's on Mars will occur when Solar Longitude reaches 360 degrees. Year 38 started November 12, 2024 on Earth
Per www.planetary.org Year 36 started 2021/02/07 on Earth. Mars Year 37 began 2022/12/27 on Earth.

Days of the Week Alignment:
Days of the week fall behind Earth due to the longer Sol, but they also change when Friday is omitted at the end of a Quarter
337 Earth days were observed to elapse in the 2020 weekday cycle. There were 7 week day transitions and 2 Quarter ends.
The next cycle began on the first Sol of the period of coincidence. The alignment of weekdays interval is in the range: (310 - 337)
To find the first day of a period of coincidence: Set up: SearchTerm(colon) and (colon)Alignment and J0036* or J0037*
The most recent End-Of-Quarter change occurred: … The search specified above gave 11 pages of results.

For current weather on Mars see:

***https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/weather/***
***Insight's weather info has been suspended and now is directing to msl*** <<-- Insight's mission is over (2022)

https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/weather/

Per SpaceNut: Here is another web page by NASA containing the latest news releases

https://mars.nasa.gov/news/?page=0&per_ ... ope=Latest

All forum members are invited to post significant events for this day.
Events of interest will be ON Mars, or relate to Mars. Examples are launches, landings, discoveries

Standard Month in Mars Business Calendar Copyright ® 2023 NewMars.com Mars Society
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Recruiting text may be found at the bottom of this post: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php ... 57#p154257
Copyright the Mars Society All Rights Reserved

Month 23 of 24: <<== Fifth month of Quarter 4 Note start of Astromical Month 12 in Year 38

Post by **tahanson43206** » Tue Aug 04, 2026 5:22 pm

===
Today on Mars: 0038/22/28 Saturday Days of the week OFFSET 3 with Earth. (count from Mars to Earth )
Sol 613 Business Month 22 Fourth month of Quarter 4 of Year 38
Today on Earth: 2026/08/04 Tuesday Earth Date)
>16

To see how this calendar works, we show the standard 28 day month at the bottom of this daily report.
There are 20 months of 28 Sols and 4 months of 27 Sols at the end of the four six-month quarters.
New Years Eve is extended to align the Business Calendar for Mars with the Astronomical calendar.
Business and Astronomical both start at zero (to the nanosecond) on New Year's Day.
This calendar has been in operation for two full Mars years (36 and 37). We are in Year 38

This calendar is NOT the Darian Calendar!

Per http://www-mars.lmd.jussieu.fr/mars/tim ... _time.html also see: in-the-sky.org for opposition/perigee/aphelion

Martian Year: 38 Martian Astronomical Interval in 12 interval format: 11 <<== The Astronomical interval
Check Longitude: the interval will increment when longitude reaches 330 degrees

===
Solar Longitude: 329.8 Sol Number: 613 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038613
Solar Longitude: 329.2 Sol Number: 612 Change in degrees is +.5 Julian date is: J0038612
Solar Longitude: 328.7 Sol Number: 611 Change in degrees is +.6 Julian date is: J0038611
#4>

Note that Solar Longitude measurement varies as a function of location in orbit. Ls 0 is the moment when the Sun appears to transit from one hemisphere to the other. Update from Mars.NASA.gov (The Sun crosses the equator of Mars (Vernal Equinox)). The transition itself is a function of the tilt of an object with respect to the Solar plane. Per squarewidget.com, Hipparchus created the celestial coordinate system we use today.

Note#2: https://theskylive.com/mars-tracker This web site shows the astronomical position of Mars as seen from Earth
Todo: At next Aphelion/Perihelion record the Mars date as J00##### (and set Search term)
Perihelion occurred in 2026 at Ls 251 on Sol 486 - Earth Date 2026/03/27 Next: (estimated) 2028/05/15
Perihelion occurred in 2024 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2024/05/08 Next: (estimated) 2026/03/06 (actual) 2026/03/26
Perihelion occurred in 2022 at Ls 251 on Sol 485 - Earth Date 2022/06/21 Next: (actual) 2024/05/08
Aphelion Earth Dates: Next: 2027/03/04 Earlier: 2025/04/16, 2023/05/30, 2021/07/12, 2019/08/25, 2017/10/07, 2015/11/20
Aphelion occurred at--- Ls 071 on Sol 152.
Aphelion occurred near Ls 070 on Sol 153 (per http://www.planetary.org)

Note#3: The computations below are dependent upon both the computations provided by the reference web site and by accuracy of recording of the time of observations. The calculations use tenths of hours. The Sun Distance needs to be captured at the moment the time increments to a given tenth.

Note on data below: The figure quoted after distance is a rate of progress along the orbital path [exact meaning to be determined]
Minus prefix means Mars is approaching the Sun. Plus prefix means Mars is moving away from the Sun.
The figure computed to the right of "Difference" is the rate of change of the distance to Sun. Increasing to Aphelion/Decreasing to Perihelion.

Aphelion of Mars is due March 04, 2027 Sol 151-152 Note velocity of Mars was 22.0 km/s nearing Aphelion (21.97 km/s)
Perhelion of Mars is due May, 2028 Sol 251 Note velocity of Mars was 26.5 km/s nearing Perhelion 2026/03/26

===
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 222,024,481 km [24.8 km/s] Difference is +191983 <= +7999 km/hour at 12.0 on 08/04 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 221,832,498 km [24.8 km/s] Difference is +191571 <= +7982 km/hour at 12.0 on 08/03 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
Distance: Mars >> Sun per theskylive.com: 221,640,927 km [24.8 km/s] Difference is +191179 <= +7966 km/hour at 12.0 on 08/02 (time 12:00) (24.0 hours)
>13
Velocity along the orbit is NOT the same thing as velocity change of the radial distance to the Sun. Both are shown in the section above.
j
Observation: The sky view is ** filled ** with objects and some have been recorded and given identification by humans or their robot assistants
And! ** All ** the location assignments are from the perspective of Earth. The entire catalog needs to be adjusted when inter-stellar travel begins
The work that lies ahead for the astronomical community is daunting - there is work ahead for centuries
2022/01/19 - All current (existing) stellar catalogs are computed with reference to the Earth. Another civilization would use it's planet as reference.
Perhaps a Milky Way frame of reference will become necessary at some point. The Earth is as good a Zero point as any, for humans.

=== Mars is in Regular movement as seen from Earth.
Mars is in Taurus
Next ahead: trio of stars in path TYC 1861-1350-1 RA 5h 41m 08.1s
galaxy above path PGC 136057 RA 5h 38m 35.5s Day 2 past Mars
14>

Zoom Out Capability As a general observation ... I've become increasingly interested in knowing what the larger view of the sky might be like.
The site: theskylive.com does a terrific job of matching the view from Earth towards Mars, against a background of actual astronomical plates.
I wish there were a way (or rather, I wish I ** knew ** about a way that may exist) to enlarge the view until the entire galaxy is in view (Zoom out)
Update 2022/12/08 TheSkyLive.com provides a large view of selected objects: Select [Major Bodies] Then select [Information] in the body of interest
Update 2022/12/08 Scroll down to (body) Position and Finder Charts. Field of view is 50x30 degrees.

Light travel in one second is (about) 300,000 kilometers. The distance covered in one minute is about 18,000,000 kilometers. Estimated light times:
1:18,2:36,3:54,4:72,5:90,6:108,7:126,8:144,9:162,10:180,11:198,12:216,13:234,14:252,15:270,16:288,17:306,18:324, 19:342,20:360,21:378,22:396

Light travel time today is between 17 and 18 minutes. Communications delay would be 34+ minutes round trip.

=== Time estimate will change below 288 megaKm
Earth Distance in km: 2026/08/04 296,645,874 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/08/03 297,275,860 (decreasing)
Earth Distance in km: 2026/08/02 297,899,523 (decreasing)
6<#

Maximum Earth-Mars distance is estimated to be 401 million kilometers (both at apogee and opposite vs Sun) Minimum is about 56 million kilometers
Mars and Earth were in Opposition (Earth center) in December of 2022. The date coincided with a (very rare) occultation of Mars by the Moon.
Mars and Earth were in Conjunction (Sun center) in November of 2023.
Mars and Earth appear to have been as close as they will get in Year 36. 81,454,323 kilometers on J0036644 Time: 4.53 minutes - 9 minutes round trip

In his online interview with Dr. Zubrin at the 2020 Mars Conference, Elon Musk reminded the audience that communications with Mars will necessarily include an intermediary station to handle traffic when the Sun is between Mars and Earth. Communications delays in that circumstance will increase due to the extra distance to be covered. Mr. Musk indicated he expects such communication will be handled by laser. Location would be optimum at poles of solar plane.

This web site offers an online model of the solar system: www.solarsystemscope.com

This web site offers an online orrery view of the Solar System: https://www.theplanetstoday.com/

===
Sol 613 is in Month 22 of a Proposed 24 month calendar. See Post 19 of Holidays topic for a summary. <<< 595 is skip day on Mars
Month 22 extends from Sol 586 through 613. <<== There are 28 days in Month 22. See post 82 of Holidays topic for current details.
Direct path to source: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php ... 57#p154257
Sol 613 is Saturday in the Proposed Business calendar for Mars. Sol 595 Skip Day on Mars. Next is near 632 of Year 38 595
##

The Next New Year's on Mars will occur when Solar Longitude reaches 360 degrees. Year 38 started November 12, 2024 on Earth
Per www.planetary.org Year 36 started 2021/02/07 on Earth. Mars Year 37 began 2022/12/27 on Earth.

Days of the Week Alignment:
Days of the week fall behind Earth due to the longer Sol, but they also change when Friday is omitted at the end of a Quarter
337 Earth days were observed to elapse in the 2020 weekday cycle. There were 7 week day transitions and 2 Quarter ends.
The next cycle began on the first Sol of the period of coincidence. The alignment of weekdays interval is in the range: (310 - 337)
To find the first day of a period of coincidence: Set up: SearchTerm(colon) and (colon)Alignment and J0036* or J0037*
The most recent End-Of-Quarter change occurred: … The search specified above gave 11 pages of results.

For current weather on Mars see:

***https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/weather/***
***Insight's weather info has been suspended and now is directing to msl*** <<-- Insight's mission is over (2022)

https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/weather/

Per SpaceNut: Here is another web page by NASA containing the latest news releases

https://mars.nasa.gov/news/?page=0&per_ ... ope=Latest

All forum members are invited to post significant events for this day.
Events of interest will be ON Mars, or relate to Mars. Examples are launches, landings, discoveries

Standard Month in Mars Business Calendar Copyright ® 2023 NewMars.com Mars Society
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Recruiting text may be found at the bottom of this post: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php ... 57#p154257
Copyright the Mars Society All Rights Reserved

Month 22 of 24: <<== Fourth month of Quarter 4

NewMars On phpBB3

Martian Calendar Based on Formula by RobertDyck

Re: Martian Calendar Based on Formula by RobertDyck

Re: Martian Calendar Based on Formula by RobertDyck

Re: Martian Calendar Based on Formula by RobertDyck

Re: Martian Calendar Based on Formula by RobertDyck

Re: Martian Calendar Based on Formula by RobertDyck

Re: Martian Calendar Based on Formula by RobertDyck

Re: Martian Calendar Based on Formula by RobertDyck

Re: Martian Calendar Based on Formula by RobertDyck

Re: Martian Calendar Based on Formula by RobertDyck

Re: Martian Calendar Based on Formula by RobertDyck