This program calculates the live distance of Mars with reasonable accuracy using Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion. It doesn't use cloud variables. Instead, it's based on the Days Since 2000 block, Kepler’s equation, and trigonometry. -Explanation of Each Component- Grey Outlined Box: Shows the positions of Mars and Earth in their orbit around the Sun. The distances are to scale, although the sizes of the objects are not. Miles/KM from the Sun: Probably pretty self-explanatory. This counter shows the approximate distance between Mars and the Sun. It has a small margin of error, but is pretty accurate. Miles/KM from the Earth: Self-explanatory. Shows the approximate distance between Mars and Earth. I’m still trying to improve this counter’s accuracy; at times, it can be up to a few million miles off of the actual value. Apparent Magnitude: This indicates how bright Mars currently appears from Earth. Counterintuitively, lower numbers are brighter and higher numbers are fainter. It's known as an inverse scale. Mars' apparent magnitude ranges from about -2.9 to +1.8. It’s brightest during opposition, when it's closest to Earth, which occurs about once every two years. This is known as an opposition because it happens when Mars is in the opposite direction in the sky as the Sun. Angular Diameter: Indicates how large Mars appears from Earth. When Mars is farther away from Earth, it appears smaller, and when it's closer, it appears larger. The angular diameter of Mars can range from 3 arcseconds (when it's farthest from Earth) to 26 arcseconds (when it's closest). More information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angular_diameter Phase: Much like the Moon, Mars exhibits phases. However, since we are closer to the Sun than Mars is, we can only see Mars from an angle where it appears to be nearly 100% illuminated. The smallest possible phase that we can see from Earth is about 88%. Constellation: As Mars and Earth orbit the Sun, Mars moves across the night sky. I thought it'd be an interesting challenge to calculate the constellation that Mars appears to be in from Earth. It isn't perfectly accurate, but it's reasonably close. Imperial/Metric: By clicking these two buttons, you can switch between miles and kilometers
