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Hubble telescope snaps super Mars close-up

BOULDER, Colo., Aug. 28 (UPI) -- The Hubble Space Telescope has delighted scientists with a stunning image of Mars, taken during the closest encounter between Earth and Mars in 60,000 years.

At 4:32 a.m. EST Wednesday Mars passed within 34,649,400 miles of the Earth -- 145 times the distance between the Earth and the Moon. The planets will not be as near again until Aug. 28, 2287.

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Newscientist.com said such close passes are rare and irregularly timed because of a complex interaction of the planets' orbits. Earth and Mars pass around the Sun on a similar plane of inclination but travel at different speeds.

The Hubble image was taken 11 hours before the planets were at their closest, although the extra distance between them was only approximately 1,400 miles

The image can resolve features on the surface of Mars measuring just 17 miles across.

Michael Wolff of the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo., told newscientist.com, "These (pictures) are the best that have ever been, and will ever be, taken by the Hubble Space Telescope."

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