Stargazers can marvel at Mars at its biggest and brightest this week, as the Red Planet moves closer to Earth than it will be for the next 15 years.
The planets briefly align every 26 months during their orbits around the Sun.
In the early hours of Wednesday – about 3.20am UAE time – they will be in what astronomers call opposition, when Mars and the Sun will be in a straight line as observed from the Earth.
The phenomenon occurs as Earth takes roughly half the time to orbit the Sun at 365 days compared to 687 days for Mars.
Scientists said Mars will be visible without the use of a telescope during this time.
"Earth and Mars are like runners on a track. Earth is on the inside, Mars is on the outside," US space agency Nasa's October blog said.
"Every 26 months, speedy Earth catches up to slower Mars and laps it. Opposition occurs just as Earth takes the lead."
The distance between the two during opposition differs because of the planets’ elliptical orbits.
They can be up to about 100 million kilometres apart, but Mars made its closest approach to Earth in almost 60,000 years in 2003 at 56m km.
This year, the distance is around 62m km.
It will be another 15 years until Earth and Mars pass by each other as close again.
The planets’ proximity every 26 months offers scientists an opportunity to launch more cost effective missions to Mars.
The point just before the planets are closest takes the least amount of time to reach Mars from Earth.
That is why the UAE’s Hope probe and two missions from China and the United States were launched in July.
A fourth mission from Europe and Russia to send the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover missed the window and will now have to wait to launch until the next close approach in late 2022.
The three which managed to take off are on course to arrive in February.
They will each complement each other, researching different mysteries of the planet, and plugging gaps in knowledge about conditions on Mars and its atmosphere.
Hope will study the planet’s weather systems, while Nasa’s Perseverance rover will collect rock core and soil samples. Tianwen-1 will search for pockets of ice below the surface.
This month, the UAE launched live tracking of Hope, which showed it has almost completed half of its 500km journey to the Red Planet.
It has beamed back several images showing the sights from its high-speed journey, including Saturn and Jupiter.
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
'Hocus%20Pocus%202'
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
SNAPSHOT
While Huawei did launch the first smartphone with a 50MP image sensor in its P40 series in 2020, Oppo in 2014 introduced the Find 7, which was capable of taking 50MP images: this was done using a combination of a 13MP sensor and software that resulted in shots seemingly taken from a 50MP camera.
Law%2041.9.4%20of%20men%E2%80%99s%20T20I%20playing%20conditions
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ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
Not Dark Yet
Shelby Lynne and Allison Moorer
Four stars
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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4.
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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6.
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Brief scores:
Manchester City 3
Aguero 1', 44', 61'
Arsenal 1
Koscielny 11'
Man of the match: Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
BRAZIL SQUAD
Alisson (Liverpool), Daniel Fuzato (Roma), Ederson (Man City); Alex Sandro (Juventus), Danilo (Juventus), Eder Militao (Real Madrid), Emerson (Real Betis), Felipe (Atletico Madrid), Marquinhos (PSG), Renan Lodi (Atletico Madrid), Thiago Silva (PSG); Arthur (Barcelona), Casemiro (Real Madrid), Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa), Fabinho (Liverpool), Lucas Paqueta (AC Milan), Philippe Coutinho (Bayern Munich); David Neres (Ajax), Gabriel Jesus (Man City), Richarlison (Everton), Roberto Firmino (Liverpool), Rodrygo (Real Madrid), Willian (Chelsea).
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
