Mars Approaching

[Bubba136]

I found the following article on a website recently. I found it interesting and thought I would share it with anyone that might be interested. "Mars Approaching: Never again in your (or my) lifetime will the Red Planet be so spectacular. This month and next, Earth is catching up with Mars, an encounter that will culminate in the closest approach between the two planets in recorded history. The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287. Due to the way Jupiter's gravity tugs on Mars and perturbs its orbit, astronomers can only be certain that Mars has not come this close to Earth in the last 5,000 years but it may be as long as 60,000 years. The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to within 34,649,589 miles and will be (next to the moon) the brightest object in the night sky. It will attain a magnitude of -2.9 and will appear 25.11 arc seconds wide. At a modest 75-power magnification, Mars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. Mars will be easy to spot. At the beginning of August Mars will rise in the east at 10 p.m. and reach its azimuth at about 3 a.m. But by the end of August when the two planets are closest, Mars will rise at nightfall and reach its highest point in the sky at 12:30 a.m. That's pretty convenient when it comes to seeing something that no human has seen in recorded history. So, mark your calendar at the beginning of August to see Mars grow progressively brighter and brighter throughout the month. No one alive today will ever see this again."

[Yamyam]

Wow! Thanks for the notice, I'll try and check that one out. I missed Halley's comet, but I did see the solar eclypse. This sounds like a good one to see. I might even try to wake our children up for this, although our two need dynamite to wake up once they're asleep.

[Robert]

Yes I'm interested in astronomy.

Around the time when it is visible all night, all telescopes, spectacles, binoculars and magnifying-glasses will be pointed at it.

[Alex]

The Martians are gonna attack now :lol:

[jo]

>> Mars will rise in the east at 10 p.m. and reach its azimuth at about 3 a.m. <<

Make that the zenith instead, and it'll read right. Looked out last night, and it is really easy to find. Just look South-East around midnight.

A number of places in Britain look to be having observing sessions at the end of August; in National Astronomy Week. Darn, there is a National Something-or-other Week every week it seems.

[Julietta]

Wow facinating, can it be seen with the naked eye?

[Bubba136]

The article says that you will be able to see it. It says" "At a modest 75-power magnification, Mars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. "

[Julietta]

Thanks Bubba

[Laurieheels]

Martians will invade, huh? Good, that means Chris and I can finally hijack one of their space ships and take that gol vacation on the moon he's been going on and on about. And we could get some nice high tech energy based weapons for the Mustang, for when other drivers really annoy us. Please go the speed limit, at least, and please, but a proper muffler on that little heap of scrap you call a car, kids! Goddess types care not for such racket. As for the approach thing, Chris and I may need to take the Mustang out for a late night drive later this month... just put the top down, and see this spectacle.

[PJ]

Back when I was in high school and college, I was an active amateur astronomer. I would track the planets (all except Pluto) with my 20x power binoculars. I would spend hours laying in a beach lounge chair in my yard staring up at the heavens. I subscribed to Sky & Telescope magazine and understood many of the techinical articles in it. I could identify all the constellations, about 100 stars, and about 1/4 of the Messier catalog of celestial objects. But as time passed by, my interests and priorities have changed. Now I don't give a hoot about Mars. What could re-kindle my interest ? Maybe if there was a high heel constellation or nebula. Or maybe if I wore my high heels during night-time observations. NAH !!! I'm afraid it would take the landing of a spaceship to get me active again.

[texasbumpkin]

What about sending out to name your own star after your favorite type of shoe? You know that Star Registry thingy.

[Bubba136]

I found the following article about Mars and its impending close encounter with us. I thought it was interesting. Here comes Mars Earth's closest matchup with the Red Planet will happen Aug. 27 By Heather Lee Schroeder August 16, 2003 In all of recorded human history, it is only the Earth civilization of 2003 that can claim a close encounter of the red kind. Mars, dubbed the Red Planet for its reddish-orange hue, will be within 35 million miles of Earth (about one-third of the distance from the Earth to the sun) at the end of the month, the closest it has been in possibly 60,000 years. It won't be this close again until about 2287. With Mars so relatively close, it gives amateur astronomers their best chance to see Earth's neighbor from their own back yards, with or without a telescope or binoculars. It is easily visible to the naked eye in the southeastern sky shortly after nightfall. And despite age-old tall tales of little green men from Mars, there is nothing to worry about, says Linda Sparke, who chairs the University of Wisconsin-Madison astronomy department. "It's not going to attack us," she explained in her down-to-Earth way. "It's quite safe." However, she said, "if they did, this would be the right time to send the spacecraft." In fact, because of the proximity, NASA has launched two Mars rover spacecraft of its own (named Spirit and Opportunity) to take advantage of this celestial good fortune. Spirit launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., June 10 and will arrive at Mars on Jan. 4, 2004. Opportunity was launched July 7 and will arrive Jan. 25, 2004. Right now Earth is orbiting between the sun and Mars, in what astronomers call "opposition." Mars will also be in conjunction (that is, the sun will be directly behind Earth and in line with Mars), so the Red Planet will be fully illuminated - no crescent. Oppositions with Mars happen regularly, every two years or so, but this one is different because Mars will be much closer to Earth and its path will afford viewers a closer view of the fourth planet from the sun. On Aug. 27, the Earth will pass within 34.7 million miles of Mars. If that seems quite a distance, compare it to the nearest star beyond our own sun. Andrew Fox, a graduate student in the UW astronomy department, said that if someone were standing on the nearest star and flashed a light, that signal would take four years to reach Earth. If the same were to happen from Mars on Aug. 27, it would take the light just three minutes to arrive. The planet will be so bright, in fact, that stargazers can watch it rise in the east after 9 p.m. By the end of this month, the planet will be rising about 9 p.m. Look for a constant bright shape that is reddish-orange in color, Fox advises. "You'll really be able to tell the difference between Mars and the other stars," he said. Astronomers predict they will get a large number of phone calls from members of the public who, after seeing Mars on the horizon, will assume they've just had a close encounter. "We're expecting a lot of false identifications this summer," Fox said. Unlike viewing the sun, watching Mars with the naked eye is fine, says James Lattis, director of the UW Space Place, but the best way to experience the opposition of Mars is to get to a telescope. With a lens, viewers should be able to see some details, like the planet's polar caps and its geological features. "This is the kind of event where a telescope is an appropriate tool," Lattis said. There are a number of local and statewide events planned that will allow visitors to view Mars through a lens. However, real enthusiasts might want to dust off their own telescope or invest in a lens. A decent telescope costs about $200 to $300, Lattis said. They're not easy to find locally, but he advises checking with Wild Birds Unlimited or Eagle Optics. More importantly, if you decide to use your own lens, Lattis said, it's important to get out with it during the day and practice setting it up and focusing it. Don't worry so much about light pollution, he added. Mars is bright enough that it will be visible regardless of ambient light in the atmosphere. While amateur astronomers all over Dane County are gearing up for many nights of stargazing, the UW staff isn't quite so excited. "The reason the professionals are sort of bored is that we knew this was going to happen," Sparke said. "We can predict this sort of stuff. It's not like it caught us by surprise." Moreover, Mars is notorious for having wild dust storms that obscure visibility on its surface. Or as Madison Astronomical Society member Tim Ellestad explained, "This is the opportunity for the stargazer. We're sending probes to Mars. We're long past what we're going to learn peering through the telescope. This is purely for the observing experience for the amateur, but that's pretty fun." The Madison Astronomical Society maintains its own observatory - which due to insurance concerns is in an undisclosed location. ("It's probably in as dark a site as we're going to get with the convenience of one day's worth of driving," Ellestad said.) Members are using that lens, as well as their own telescopes, to view Mars. For any astronomer - amateur or professional - the art of the pastime lies partly in its difficulties. Weather concerns and atmospheric conditions top the astronomer's list of problems, Ellestad said. Unlike the Hubble Space Telescope, which captures perfect electronic images, a viewer using a lens on the Earth's surface must contend with the limits of his or her own body and the motion in the atmosphere. The human eye and brain perceive that minute motion in much the same way a mirage on a hot day is seen. The image shimmers or even blurs. With the tiny size of astronomer's targets, the star or planet may wiggle or swim or never be in focus no matter what - depending, of course, on the amount or type of disturbance. Professional astronomers call this "the seeing," as in "The seeing was good on Saturday night." "We don't live in a place on Earth that has the most spectacular seeing conditions," Ellestad said of the Madison area. So when a planet gets this close, it offers up a good opportunity for better seeing. Normally it takes exceptional seeing conditions and an excellent telescope to observe Mars' detail, but Ellestad said the larger the planet, the better the seeing. "As images go, Mars is dinky," he said. "Any time it's notably closer, it's a substantially improved opportunity to see some detail on the planet." And since most amateur astronomers come to the hobby with a sense of awe or fascination and a hope to relate to the scale of the universe, looking at planets is perhaps the most satisfying of experiences, he added. Professional astronomers enjoy events like this because they attract the general public to their science. "This kind of (planetary) opposition, while it's not terribly important for astronomical research, is very important in that it's a great opportunity for the public to get a good look at a neighboring planet," Lattis said. He added: "We gain insight into our place on Earth and in the universe as a whole. These are important things that get lost in the day-to-day business of life." Astronomy and NASA also could use a good shoring up right now, particularly after the shuttle disaster, the astronomers say. "Astronomy is a science that is very sensitive to public opinion," Fox said. "Something like this is viewed as a chance to get astronomy back into a good public opinion." That's why the UW astronomy department and the Madison Astronomical Society are working hard to get people out looking at Mars thismonth. Sparke said her department's goal is to show people the night sky above their head and familiarize them with its mysteries. "Maybe if people start looking, they'll look more often," she said. "If you get used to looking, you can start to track changes in the sky." That, of course, is what our ancestors did - before the advent of clocks and calendars. They used the constellations to mark the turning of seasons. Reconnecting people to that celestial past is important, Sparke said.

[Robert]

Excellent article Bubba!

See also http://www.spaceweather.com/ for articles, photo's, charts, etc, not only for Mars

[Bubba136]

Has anyone taken a look at Mars lately?

[J-Nation]

yes last night, but it doesn't look all that different to the naked eye now compared with early August. Emma

[Highluc]

Today with a clear sky in Belgium, even the sodium lights spoiled horizon and sky was not able to tone down the bright clear reddissh glow of Mars. It is still amazing how strong this planets reflects light at this distance without radiating any light like other stars in the sky. Of course being on heels again makes us a bit closer to this fascinating planet as the other population just following the fashion of flat trainers

[Heelfan]

Great Highluc - I like it! Maybe a new excuse for promoting high heels wearing - get all astronomers into utra-high-heels! Cheerfully yours, Heelfan

[Bubba136]

Hmm! 'Reaching new heights while viewing Mars"

[Bubba136]

Here, if you're interested, is a radio report from an observer of the recent moon/mars occultation. While most of us never think of such things, when I heard this report, I found it very interesting.

http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=1401486

[Bubba136]

Here's another story about Mars. http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101030908/xmars.html

[Julietta]

That's a great picture Bubba. I have been looking at the sky nearly everynight. I think it's amazing and beautiful to see Mars so clearly with the naked eye. Magical!

[Yamyam]

It is amazing, isn't it. I keep thinking we should show the children, but I can guess what there reaction will be. But they'll never see it again, so perhaps we should drag them out there for it.

[Julietta]

I've already shown Holly to "Oh nice , can I stay up and watch...?"

[Bubba136]

I think its worthwhile to call our children's attention to events that occur only once in a lifetime. Even though they might not appreciate it now, in the future when ever its mentioned again, they can say "yes, I saw that when I was 8 years old" -- or something like that. In this case, no one living today will be around to witness the next time Mars is this close to the earth.

[Robert]

I've seen Mars too and it amazed me that you could see much details. What in earlier times known as "channels" I saw spots. (I have a telescope which enlarge about 100 to 200 times). Also one ice cap was clearly seen.

Once in a month the moon was nearby, then you can't see much details because the moon is much brighter, but I saw a picture on the net and you can save it as a desktop picture.

The only drawback is that the picture is mirrored, so you must mirror it back (left must be right), then you can see the "face" of the moon.

http://science.nasa.gov/spaceweather/swpod2003/10sep03/Tomiyasu1.jpg

[Julietta]

I think its worthwhile to call our children's attention to events that occur only once in a lifetime. Even though they might not appreciate it now, in the future when ever its mentioned again, they can say "yes, I saw that when I was 8 years old" -- or something like that. In this case, no one living today will be around to witness the next time Mars is this close to the earth.

Funnily enough I pointed it out to my other two elder children, on Wednesday night as they were leaving after coming over for the youngest's birthday. My eldest, another daughter, was again "Oh is that all. I was expecting a planet the size of the moon and not something that looks like a torch :rofl: " whereas my son was impressed I was surprised that they knew nothing about it actually, and me, well I think it's beautiful and magical as I've said before...