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Red, White, and Blue



Subject: Mars and Spica
Date: June 9, 1999
Time: 11:00pm
Location: Provo, UT
Lens: 50mm
F-stop: 1.7
Exposure time: 10 s
Filters: 16 diffractor
Film: Kodak Max
ISO/ASA: 800



On this night, Mars passed within 2 degrees of Spica, a star in the constellation Virgo. Mars had just finished its retrograde motion, and began moving away right after.



About the Title:
Although the stars and planets vary greatly in color, for the most part they are too dim for our eyes to distinguish. On this night, however, the planet Mars and the star Spica were clearly red and blue, respectively. With the white cloud nearby they looked a little patriotic. See also Stars and Stripe.