Mars, which appears to be swallowed by the Red Planet’s sun, will disappear from the sky on Earth on Saturday, November 18. Don’t panic, this disappearance may seem dramatic, but it’s actually the result of Mars passing Earth from the opposite side of the Sun during an event astronomers call a solar conjunction.

According to In the Sky, Mars will move just one degree away from the Sun as it approaches the star. Both objects will be in the constellation Libra. After that, the Red Planet will not be visible for several weeks as it is bathed in the glow of our star.

During solar conjunction, an event that Earth and Mars experience every two Earth years, both planets (third and fourth from the Sun, respectively) will be at their furthest distance from each other. The average distance between Mars and Earth is about 140 million miles (225 million kilometers). At solar conjunction, the distance between Earth and Mars will be approximately 235 million miles; This is two and a half times the average distance between our planet and the Sun.

The solar conjunction of Mars is not only important for sky watchers. NASA has been operating rovers like Curiosity and Perseverance on the surface of Mars for more than two decades, as well as flying the Ingenuity helicopter over barren and arid landscapes and, of course, spacecraft in orbit around the Red Planet.

Over the next few months, Mars will emerge from the far side of the Sun and will be visible longer and longer in the sky until the morning. It will reach opposition in about a year, after which Mars will be visible above Earth for most of the night.

During solar reconnection, mission controllers on Earth will lose communication with robotic missions to Mars. The rovers will stall, Ingenuity will be shut down, and the spacecraft will not send data back to Earth. This is to prevent the possibility of a partial command being transmitted that would interfere with the robots or spacecraft.

“NASA will delay sending commands to the Mars fleet by two weeks, from November 11 to November 25, when Earth and the Red Planet are on opposite sides of the Sun. “This event, called a Mars solar conjunction, occurs every two years,” NASA said. expression. “The missions were suspended because hot ionized gas from the Sun’s corona could potentially disrupt radio signals sent from Earth to NASA’s Mars rover, causing unexpected behavior.”

Signals to Mars were stopped on Saturday, November 11, and will resume on November 25. There will be no holidays for Mars missions, which will continue to collect data on the condition of the Martian surface, weather patterns and the movement of sand on Mars. surface

“Our mission teams have spent months preparing to-do lists for all of our Mars spacecraft,” Mars Transport Network Manager Roy Gladden said in a statement. said. weeks”.

Mars may disappear from the night sky, but there are still many spectacular sights to see. Need optics to see up close? Our guides to the best telescopes and best binoculars are a great place to start.

If you’re looking to photograph the night sky while waiting for Mars to return, check out our best astrophotography cameras and best astrophotography lenses, as well as our guide on how to shoot the night sky.