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MARS FORMS TRIANGLE WITH MOON AND STAR TONIGHT

The planet will form a cosmic triangle with the moon, Mars and the bright star Regulus.

As the evening twilight deepens around 8:30 p.m. local time Tuesday night (April 3), check out the southeast sky. Weather permitting, a waxing gibbous moon will be shining bright, but it won't be alone.

Situated well above the moon will be two bright "stars." I've placed the word stars in quote marks, because one of those stars is in reality a planet: the so-called Red Planet, Mars.

The planet will form a cosmic triangle with the moon, Mars and bright star Regulus. The arrangement can be seen in the sky map of Mars accompanying this planet viewing guide.

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A month ago, Mars came to opposition with the sun and two days later arrived at its closest point to the Earth in 2012, a distance of 62.6 million miles (100.7 million kilometers). Since then, Mars has been receding from us and correspondingly has faded.

On Tuesday, Mars will be 70.7 million miles (113.8 million km) away, but will still appear to shine brilliantly. Only the moon, Venus, Jupiter and the stars Sirius and Canopus rank higher in brightness. But Mars is now shining at about 70 percent of the radiance it had a month ago and its fade-down will become even more apparent in the coming weeks.

One month from now, it will shine only about half as bright as it does now. And if you look carefully at Mars, you'll see that in spite of its popular "Red Planet" moniker, its true color leans closer toward yellow-orange.

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This contrasts noticeably with the bluish object situated to the right (west) of Mars; the first magnitude star Regulus in the constellation of Leo, the Lion. Regulus is number 21 on the list of brightest stars and currently appears only about one-sixth as bright as Mars. [Skywatcher Photos of Mars and Moon]

Both planet and star are separated by about 5 degrees, while the moon stands about 10 degrees beneath the pair. Your clenched fist held at arm’s length is approximately equal to 10 degrees in width. So we could say that the length of Tuesday's eye-catching triangular pattern (why not call it a Mars Triangle?) is roughly equal to "one fist."

Currently, Mars is in the midst of describing an elongated loop against the stars of Leo. It is in its retrograde, or "backward," motion and appears to be traveling toward the west. As a consequence, Mars is edging closer toward Regulus, though this will come to an end in less than two weeks when this retrograde motion comes to an end and the planet resumes its normal eastward motion.

While Mars is receding, it is still worth a look if you have a small telescope. In a high quality 6- or 8-inch telescope on a night of excellent seeing, you may make out the north polar cap, dark surface markings and occasional white clouds.

Right now we are blessed to observe it high above the low-altitude hazes and poor seeing conditions that normally plague Northern Hemisphere observers. It will reach its highest point in the sky at around 10:30 p.m. local time, when it will be more than 60 degrees ("six fists") above the southern horizon.

Mars is not the only bright object to watch for in the Tuesday night sky. The planet Venus will pass through the Pleiades star cluster in the western sky on the same night.

If you snap an amazing photo of Mars, Venus and the Pleiades, or any other skywatching target, and would like to share it for a possible story or image gallery, please contact SPACE.com managing editor Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com.

Flying car gets closer to reality with test flight, introduction to customers at New York show

                This obviously is not the flying car; no media photos are available yet, but the basic principle seen here is about the same.

Flying cars aren't just science fiction anymore.

Woburn, Massachusetts-based Terrafugia Inc. said Monday that its prototype flying car has completed its first flight, bringing the company closer to its goal of selling the flying car within the next year. The vehicle - dubbed the Transition - has two seats, four wheels and wings that fold up so it can be driven like a car. Last month, it flew at 1,400 feet (426 metres) for eight minutes. Commercial jets fly at 35,000 feet (10.668 metres).

Around 100 people have already put down a $10,000 deposit to get a Transition when they go on sale, and those numbers will likely rise after Terrafugia introduces the Transition to the public later this week at the New York Auto Show. But don't expect it to show up in too many driveways. It's expected to cost $279,000.

And it won't help if you're stuck in traffic. The car needs a runway.

The flying car has always had a special place in the American imagination. Inventors have been trying to make them since the 1930s, according to Robert Mann, an airline industry analyst who owns R.W. Mann & Co. in Port Washington, New York.

But Mann thinks Terrafugia has come closer than anyone to making the flying car a reality. The government has already granted the company's request to use special tires and glass that are lighter than normal automotive ones, to make it easier for the vehicle to fly. The government has also temporarily exempted the Transition from the requirement to equip vehicles with electronic stability control, which would add about six pounds (2.72 kilograms) to the vehicle. The Transition is currently going through a battery of automotive crash tests to make sure it meets federal safety standards.

Mann said Terrafugia was helped by the Federal Aviation Administration's decision five years ago to create a separate set of standards for light sport aircraft. The standards govern the size and speed of the plane and licensing requirements for pilots, which are less restrictive than requirements for pilots of larger planes. Terrafugia says an owner would need to pass a test and complete 20 hours of flying time to be able to fly the Transition, a relatively low hurdle for pilots.

The Transition can reach around 70 miles per hour (112 kph) on the road and 115 mph (185 kph) in the air, spokesman Steven Moscaritolo said. On the ground, it gets 35 miles per gallon (15 kilometres per litre).

Mann questions the size of the market for the Transition. The general aviation market has been in decline for two decades, he said, largely because of fuel costs and the high cost of liability for manufacturers. Also, fewer people are learning how to fly.

“This is not going to be an inexpensive aircraft to produce or market,” he said. “It has some uniqueness, and will get some sales, but the question is, could it ever be a profitable enterprise?”

Mann sees the western U.S. as the most likely market, where people could fly instead of driving long distances.

Terrafugia has been working on flying cars since 2006, and has already pushed back the launch once. Last summer the company said it would have to delay expected 2011 deliveries due to design challenges and problems with parts suppliers.

With the appearance in New York, the company hopes to attract the eye of customers as well as investors.

“We are introducing ourselves as a viable company to the automotive world,” Moscaritolo said.