Hi, I used to think that was a simple question. But then I talked to a friend who is a combination astronomy nut and math whiz. The minimum distance of planet center to planet center (55,758,006) happens at 3:51 a.m. MDT. HOWEVER the minimum distance between a given observer in the SLC area and the closest surface feature on Mars is a few thousand kilometers closer and happens a couple of hours earlier. I've asked him to get me exact numbers. I'll post them here and in News when I get them. BTW, I'm also trying to get a read on if that 3:51 time is actual time or light received time. But I digress.... Patrick :-) Rob Ratkowski wrote:

QUESTION What is the exact time and day that Mars is closest to us?? I read in the paper it's Tuesday night and others say it Wednesday night and on my calendar I marked it the 28th at the beginning of the year. I believe it's really Wednesday night/Thursady AM it's the closest.2

Hi, According to http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/eph set for Honolulu (could not find Maui in the database) it looks like: DATE UT Size A.U. 2003-Aug-27, 11:00, 25.129, 0.3726848209 Cheers! Patrick :-) Rob Ratkowski wrote:

Hi Patrick

I thought this would be a simple question to answer. Would you have an offset for Maui,Hawaii?? Or will you post times for different locations ??/