2003 Mars Apparition

In August 2003, Mars, at a visual magnitude of -2.9, came closer to Earth than at any time in approximately 60,000 years. The Martian southern hemisphere is tipped toward Earth, thus the south polar cap shines brilliantly as major planetary features show up in this 5-hour time-lapse GIF animation, composed of 8 images, each combined from 15 "Best Sharp" sub-images taken with an STV Digitally Integrating Video Camera.