'Martian Triangle' Visible in Night Sky

Hours before NASA's newest rover Curiosity touches down on Mars tonight, the Red Planet will put on an impressive show in the night sky to mark the historic occasion. NASA's Curiosity rover, which is also called the Mars Science Laboratory, is scheduled to land on the surface of the Red Planet on Sunday night (Aug. 5) at 10:31 p.m. PDT (1:31 a.m. EDT Aug. 6; 0531 GMT). For those planning to stay up for the event, it might help pass the time to see the celestial meet-up in the night sky between Mars, Saturn and the bright star Spica. Spica is the brightest star in the constellation of Virgo, and if conditions are favorable on the night of Curiosity's landing, observers will be able to see it team up with the planets Saturn and Mars to form a "Martian Triangle" that will be visible from almost everywhere on Earth, according to NASA officials. The triangle between Saturn, Mars and Spica will be visible after sunset on Sunday. As the sky turns black, look west to where the setting sun slipped away. The three celestial objects will form a bright equilateral triangle, with angles of about 5 degrees on each side, NASA astronomers said in a statement. Planets Saturn and Mars and Bright Star Spica Form Martian Triangle in the Night Sky Saturn, Mars and Spica will form a "Martian Triangle" in the night sky on Aug. 5, 2012, just hours before NASA's Curiosity rover touches down on the Red Planet.