Just in Case You Were Wondering
Yes, you can see Luna from the surface of Mars, at least during certain times of the year, if no sandstorms obscure your vision (or flay you alive):
Earth and moon, as seen from Mars by the Curiosity rover in 2014. From Mars, you’d see both the Earth and moon with the eye alone.
I came across this eerie picture of Terra and Luna above Mars when a reader asked me about the scene in TITANS OF CHAOS, where the children on Mars are trying to calculate their latitude from watching the stars rise and set.
And, for the record, Mars has no north star. I do not mean Polaris is not visible, I merely mean the axis of Mars does not point to it, nor to any major bright star.
Mars’ north pole points to a spot in the sky that’s about midway between Deneb, the brightest star in the constellation Cygnus the Swan, and Alderamin, the brightest star in the constellation Cepheus the King.
About John C Wright
John C. Wright is a practicing philosopher, a retired attorney, newspaperman, and newspaper editor, and a published author of science fiction. Once a Houyhnhnm, he was expelled from the august ranks of purely rational beings when he fell in love; but retains an honorary title.
