The
red planet, already intense, is about to get much brighter.
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September 22, 2005: Ready to be amazed?
Step
outside tonight around midnight and look east. About halfway
up the sky you'll see the planet Mars. It looks like an intense
red star, the brightest light in the midnight sky other than
the Moon.
Here's
the amazing part: Between now and the end of October, Mars,
already so bright, will double in brightness again.
Imagine that.
Mars
is getting brighter for the simple reason that it's getting
closer. Earth and Mars have been converging for months and
on Oct. 30th at 0319 Universal Time, the two worlds will be
just 69 million kilometers apart—the closest approach of Mars
and Earth for the next 13 years.
Right:
Mars and the Pleiades, photographed on Sept. 8th by Stan
Richard in rural Jasper County, Iowa.
The
timing is practically perfect for Halloween. Millions of kids
and their parents will be outdoors after dark trick-or-treating
on Oct 31st. Mars will rise at sundown that night, bright
enough to be seen even from urban-lit cities. Furthermore,
purists insist, Mars isn't really red, it’s pumpkin-colored.
Could it get any better?
Oh,
yes.
In
2003, the last time Earth and Mars converged, Mars was bright,
but it was also low, never climbing more than about 34o
above the horizon as seen from North America and Europe. In
2005, on the other hand, Mars is going be much higher in the
sky: about 66o.
This
is good news for people with backyard telescopes, because
planets high in the sky look crisp and clear. Lower down,
near the horizon where the air is thick, they become murky
and indistinct. Mars in 2005 is nicely placed for detailed,
high-magnification viewing.
Already
backyard astronomers are seeing some extraordinary things—like
the "purple haze." Winter is beginning at the Martian
north pole, and icy-blue clouds are gathering there. The vast
cloud bank is easily seen through 10-inch and larger telescopes,
purple enough to remind some observers of Jimi Hendrix. The
view will only improve as Oct. 30th approaches.
Right:
Mars, the view through a 10" telescope on Sept. 18, 2005.
North is up. Credit: Alan
Friedman of Buffalo, NY.
NASA
is taking advantage of the close encounter to send a robot-ship
to Mars. Named Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, it left Earth
in August carrying, among other
things, the biggest camera ever sent to another planet.
The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, or "HiRISE",
weighs 145 lbs (on Earth); its primary optical mirror is a
half-meter wide; and it can take pictures with 1200 megapixels
of digital resolution. From Mars orbit, this monster camera
can see things as small as a dishwasher. It's due to arrive
in March 2006 to begin mapping Mars in exquisite detail for
explorers of the future.
By
the time the orbiter reaches Mars it will have traveled more
than 400 million km. You only need to go as far as your backyard.
Look up, and be amazed.
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Author: Dr. Tony
Phillips | Production Editor:
Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit: Science@NASA
|