APOD: Mars Near Opposition

Tonight Mars is between opposition and closest approach. The planet is looping through Virgo, opposite the Sun. This image was taken on April 3rd by a high-speed digital camera and 16-inch diameter telescope from Assis, Brazil. Mars' north polar cap is displayed in the photograph. You can clearly see whitish orographic clouds, which are water vapor clouds that are condensing in the cold atmosphere above Mars' volcanos. The night of closest approach will be April 14th or April 15th. I think that it is amazing that astronomers have telescopes and cameras that are advanced enough to create this clear image of Mars.