StellarSnap<p>📸 Mars in the Loop<br>Between Sep 2024 and May 2025, Mars traced a retrograde loop through Gemini and Cancer. This apparent reversal happens when Earth, moving faster in its orbit, overtakes Mars. Around Dec 8, Mars seemed to pause near the star cluster M44, drifted westward, then returned by May. At its closest on Jan 16, it was just 96 million km away.<br>🔗 apod.nasa.gov<br>📷 Tunc Tezel / NASA APOD<br><a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/APOD" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>APOD</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Mars" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Mars</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Retrograde" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Retrograde</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Astronomy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Astronomy</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/NightSky" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NightSky</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/stellarsnap" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>stellarsnap</span></a></p>