Astronomy Picture of the Day · December 16, 2003

Retrograde Mars

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for December 16, 2003 is “Retrograde Mars,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Credit & Copyright: Tunc Tezel). The original explanation runs about 156 words.

From the explanation

“Why would Mars appear to move backwards? Most of the time, the apparent motion of Mars in Earth’s sky is in one direction, slow but steady in front of the far distant stars.”

— APOD editors, December 16, 2003

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date: December 16, 2003
Type: Image
Credit: Credit & Copyright: Tunc Tezel
Copyright: Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length: About 156 words

All of December 2003 → · 2003 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

Mars

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: December 16 in other years

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Source

Astronomy Picture of the Day, December 16, 2003 — science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2003-december-16-retrograde-mars

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.