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MARS.
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yet at this part of its path Mars is at its greatest distance from the sun, and consequently the opposition takes place when the two bodies are separated by the greatest distance that is at present possible on the occasion of an opposition.
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Fig. 14.—Apparent dimensions of Mars at its mean and extreme distances. At the greatest distance, Mars, being on the other side of the Sun, is invisible.
It thus happens that in the February opposi-
