China publishes its first map of the entire surface of Mars

China has unveiled its first map of the entire surface of Mars. The data for that map was compiled by the Tianwen-1 Mars Orbiter.

This was reported on Monday, April 24 by the Russian "Novosti" agency.

The Chinese "Xinhua" agency also announced that China has published, for the first time, color photographs of the surface of Mars. According to the agency, the images were taken by the Chinese orbital Mars probe Tianwen-1. It was published by the State Space Administration of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

A photo release ceremony was held in Hefei, the administrative center of east China's Anhui Province, on the occasion of China's Space Day.

It is noteworthy that the photographs of the red planet have a local resolution of 76 meters per pixel, and they are based on 14,757 photographs taken by the camera on board the orbital probe between November 2021 and July 2022.

And the agency recalled that the first Chinese mission to Mars, Tianwen-1, was launched on July 23, 2020. After achieving a space flight that lasted 202 (two hundred and two days), the Chinese Mars probe entered orbit around Mars, and then achieved the Martian platform with a rover on board in May 15 Soft landing on the surface of the red planet. On May 22, the Zhuzhong rover left the lander and began to explore Mars. 

A "near total" eclipse of the moon will appear to the inhabitants of the Earth next month

The Planetarium Astronomical Center in Moscow announced that residents of Russia and several regions of the world will witness a lunar eclipse in the first week of next May.

"On Friday, May 5, 2023, residents of some regions of the globe will witness an almost total lunar eclipse, which will last from 18:14 to 22:31 Moscow time," said a statement issued by the center's press service.

The statement added, "The eclipse will last 4 hours and 17 minutes, and at exactly 20:23 Moscow time on the aforementioned day, the moon will almost completely disappear into the earth's shadow, and the edge of its northern disk will be visible to the galactic eye if the weather is clear."

In addition to the population of Russia, residents of Antarctica, most of Asia, southeastern Europe, Australia, Africa, and regions of the Atlantic and Indian oceans will be able to witness the phenomenon of the lunar eclipse on May 5th.

According to the statement, the residents of the Russian capital, Moscow, will have some difficulty observing the moment of the maximum eclipse on that day, because the moon disk will appear low above the southeastern horizon after 20:00 Moscow time, and it may be obscured by buildings or trees, so it is preferable that the phenomenon be observed from high places. or convertible.