Click on the image above to view a QuickTime Movie presentation (992KB)
As we pass by the planet Mars, it will get brighter and its motion against the starry background will appear to slow down. By the second week of May, Mars will appear to have stopped, and will then slowly begin moving backward during what astronomers call retrograde motion. On July 19th, Mars will again appear to have stopped, after which it will resume its usual forward motion.
(Mars can currently be seen toward the south in the pre-dawn sky.)
