On planet Earth, an analemmais the figure-8 loopyou get whenyou mark the position of the Sun at the same time each daythroughout the year.But similarly marking the position ofthe Sun in the Martian sky would produce the simpler stretchedpear shape i thisdigital illustration,based on the Mars Pathfinder project'sfamous Presidential Panoramaview from the surface.The simulation shows the lat afternoonSun that would have beenseen from th SaganMemorial Station once every 30 Martiandays (sols) beginning on Sol 24 (July 29, 1997).Slightly less bright, the simulated Sun is only about two thirdsthe size as seen from Earth, while th Martiandust, responsible forthe reddish sky of Mars, also scatters some blue light aroundthe solar disk.Astronomer Dennis Mammana offers the illustration to markthe hopeful beginning of an exciting new era o robotic explorationof the Red Planet, with two ne Mars missions now enrouteand one preparing to launch.
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