I was up early on July 1, in an attempt to catch the sun glow on some magnificent thunder storms nearby. As I looked up, Mars literally jumped out at me, very bright and red below the moon. There was no doubt in my mind what it was when I saw it.
This month, Mars is brighter than the bright planet Jupiter. It is brighter and redder than it has been since 2003. It will remain so for the next couple of months. That is because Mars and Earth happen to be on the same side of our solar system now, rather than on opposite sides. It will be 35.8 million miles away, and it is only about half the size of planet Earth, so it will not be gigantic, but it will be quite visible.
I made several 180 degree manual panoramas with my Phantom 4 Pro. I was curious if Mars was visible. With a great deal of magnification, Mars was indeed visible, very, very small, only about 9 pixels, but there it was. I must admit I was fairly impressed with the performance of the wide angle lens on the Phantom 4 Pro.
In the attached photos you can see it marked with the red arrow, below the moon and just above the clouds. Obviously, one would never notice it with the naked eye in such a photo, but it does show those 20 (approx) megapixels are useful for detail.
This month, Mars is brighter than the bright planet Jupiter. It is brighter and redder than it has been since 2003. It will remain so for the next couple of months. That is because Mars and Earth happen to be on the same side of our solar system now, rather than on opposite sides. It will be 35.8 million miles away, and it is only about half the size of planet Earth, so it will not be gigantic, but it will be quite visible.
I made several 180 degree manual panoramas with my Phantom 4 Pro. I was curious if Mars was visible. With a great deal of magnification, Mars was indeed visible, very, very small, only about 9 pixels, but there it was. I must admit I was fairly impressed with the performance of the wide angle lens on the Phantom 4 Pro.
In the attached photos you can see it marked with the red arrow, below the moon and just above the clouds. Obviously, one would never notice it with the naked eye in such a photo, but it does show those 20 (approx) megapixels are useful for detail.
