Mars' orange glow

03/14/12, 10 pm, looking east

Mars has the prettiest coral-orange color right now. Enjoy it while you can, glowing brightly high in the east after dark, because the earth is moving away from Mars and its color will fade.


The two stars keeping Mars company are Algieba (left), Arabic for "forehead", and Regulus (right), both in the constellation Leo. Algieba, also called Gamma Leonis, actually marks Leo's mane, but forehead is close. Regulus, also called Alpha Leonis, is the location of Leo's chest (or front leg) as he stands regally at attention in the night.