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Phoenix Lander Location  

Some quick notes on the location of the Phoenix Mars Lander:

It is located at 68.218830°N 234.250778°E (or 68.218830°N 125.749222°W). Using the same prime meridian as Earth this would project onto a spot about 120 miles northwest of Great Bear Lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada.

The Martian Arctic Circle is at 64.81°N, which puts the lander around 3.4° North of the circle. Since Earth’s axial tilt is somewhat less extreme than Mars’ (23.439281° vs 25.19°), Earth’s Arctic Circle is at 66.56083°N.

Keeping the longitude the same, but projecting the position 3.4° North of Earth’s Arctic Circle places the landing spot at the equivalent of a location in Franklin Bay in the Arctic Ocean off the coast of the Northwest Territories.

See the map here.

» Posted: Friday, July 25, 2008
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