Here comes Mars

madison.com Madison Newspapers Inc., publishers of the Wisconsin State Journal, | 8-16-03 | By Heather Lee Schroeder

[Temple Owl]

This looks like something that should have been posted before, but I put a search on it and nothing came up.

Anyway I intend to go look at the southeastern sky and see of I can spot the "Red Planet."

Please let me know if you see anything.

[Conservative4Ever]

you can't miss it. It is huge in the sky. Too bad NASA has fallen apart. We should be on Mars now. [Although my kids have been there for years.]

Red

[zarf]

I viewed Mars the other day at the Vanderbilt University Dyer Observatory through their 24' mirror. Frankly, I thought a recent viewing I made through a 14' Celestron was more impressive.

[b4its2late]

I'll be watching.......

[zarf]

or should I say...the other evening...

[ThreePuttinDude]

I've been keeping an eye on it the last couple of nights.
Next to the moon, its the brightest bulb in the sky.

[SamAdams76]

Unlike viewing the sun, watching Mars with the naked eye is fine, says James Lattis, director of the UW Space Place.

Whew! That is good news. I was losing sleep over that one.

[Domestic Church]

When was the last time Mars was this close?

[gitmo]

We haven't had a nighttime view of the sky in months down here. Wish the clouds would go away. I'm missing Mars and the meteor showers.

[FReepaholic]

Took my boys outside with binoculars to see Mars. For some reason they had been thinking that Mars would be larger than the Moon.

When I showed them Mars they said: "That's all there is???" and went back inside to their Playstation.

Sheesh.

[Temple Owl]

Just clouds and drizzle over southeastern Pa.Maybe I'll have better luck tomorrow.

[RandallFlagg]

Didn't "The War Of The Worlds" start out like this?

Maybe they'll start with France....

[19th LA Inf]

Last time it was "this close" was 57,617 BC according to Sky & Telescope magazine. However, in spite of all the publicity this time, it will be only about 5% closer than it was in 1988. Reasonably close approaches occur roughly every two years.

[LibWhacker]

If you don't have a telescope, here's where you can find live video from Cave Creek Observatory, plus a live Mars webcam ('course, you have to wait until it's good and dark).

The webcam wasn't active last night, but the live video feed was. Both should be up and running on the big night, but don't be surprised if the website is flooded. So check it out tonight and every night up to the second week of September or so, if you can. The view shouldn't change too much in that period of time anyway.

I think both the live video feed and the webcam are shot through C11's (11" Celestrons), which isn't the best view in the world, but is a heck of a lot better than looking at Mars with binoculars or the naked eye. But hey, if you happen to have a nice 30" Dob, invite us over! :-)

[Temple Owl]

Thank you.

[aimhigh]

I got up at 3 am to let my puppy out. It's clearly visible.

[LibWhacker]

Yep, I've been out every night for the last week looking at it. You can definitely tell it's not a star. And the reddish tint is a dead giveaway. Wish I hadn't packed up my binoculars.

[KarlInOhio]

Unlike viewing the sun, watching Mars with the naked eye is fine, says James Lattis

Is it safe to view it completely naked?

[George from New England]

Opportunity was launched July 7 and will arrive Jan. 25, 2004.

The closeness we observe this month is not too relavant to the sending of spacecraft. It appears to take over six months to make the trip. What this might mean is that a month ago earth was in it's orbit close to where Mars will be in Jan 2004. I think this would make for the shortest trip. We also have to consider where Earth will be when we want to communicate with the craft on Mars. We can't do much if Earth is on the other side of the Sun from Mars!

There's alot more than meets to eye.

[Davea]

I just heard this on IRN

Here is the latest bulletin from the Intercontinental Radio News. Toronto, Canada:

Professor Morse of McGill University reports observing a total of three explosions on the planet Mars, between the hours of 7:45 P.M. and 9:20 P.M., eastern standard time. This confirms earlier reports received from American observatories. Now, nearer home, comes a special announcement from Trenton, New Jersey. It is reported that at 8:50 P.M. a huge, flaming object, believed to be a meteorite, fell on a farm in the neighborhood of Grovers Mill, New Jersey, twenty-two miles from Trenton.

The flash in the sky was visible within a radius of several hundred miles and the noise of the impact was heard as far north as Elizabeth.

We have dispatched a special mobile unit to the scene, and will have our commentator, Carl Phillips, give you a word desription as soon as he can reach there from Princeton. In the meantime, we take you to the Hotel Martinet in Brooklyn, where Bobby Millette and his orchestra are offering a program of dance music.