On January 16, 2025 Mars will be in opposition, the previous one occurred on December 8, 2022, when it became the brightest object in the night sky (Mv. -1.9). During these periods, tracing the apparent motion of the Red Planet from evening to evening is very interesting, as a real "noose" is created, with a double reversal of its movement. This put ancient sky observers in crisis at the time when the geocentric theory was dominant. Putting things in their place, it turned out to be a simple perspective effect, due to the mutual motion of Earth and Mars. The image is the sum of a sequence taken every useful evening, clouds permitting, from 12 August 2022 to 22 March 2023. The background is the sum of 22 shots of the area of ​​the sky where Mars was located, the rich star field of the constellation del Toro. By coincidence, in February 2023 the path of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) crossed the noose.

Canon 60Da + 28 mm. lens, star tracker Vixen Polarie (background).
Canon 6D + 50 mm. lens, star tracker Vixen Polarie (sequence).

Sequator, PS CC (background), Iris, Startrails, PS CC (sequence).