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Observing
Mars from Earth
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Mars is a superior planet
(further from the Sun)
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Best time to observe is at
opposition
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Mars orbit is more elliptical
than Earth's
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some oppositions are more
favorable than others
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opposition distance varies
from 0.37 to 0.68 AU
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Surface features on Mars
allow measurement of rotation
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Huygens observed in 1659
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Cassini in 1666
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Cassini observed polar ice
caps on Mars
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William Herschel, late 1700s
measured tilt of Mars' rotation axis
Amateur telescope view
of Mars
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