Two Red Bodies

One a star and one a planet. The red giant star Antares is shown at left (brightest of the three grouped stars) and the red planet Mars is at right center. Antares shines at magnitude 1.03 and Mars at magnitude 1.22. A little difference in size and distance though. Antares, some 800 times larger than our sun, lies some 604 light years distant while the small planet Mars is a mere 177.6 million miles from Earth. Antares is part of the constellation Scorpius and Mars at this time lies in the constellation Libra. The tower at left background is operated by Century Communications LLC. This image looks southwest from the grounds at Noelridge Christian Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and is a 2.5-second exposure at f/6.3, 2500 ISO and 40mm focal length. The last glow of twilight is at lower right.