MARS MANIA

Recently I came across with quite a few articles & some e-mail forwards regarding MARS. It’s a usual thing that I get these kind of information as I’m involved in Astronomy, but this time it was not the regulars I was getting. 

It concentrated on one topic, one massage to spread throughout the world. It was about the “close approach of Mars 2005”. O.K. we know that it’s having a close approach with us. But was it close as these bunch of people pointed out!


Mars Hoax

Here are some snippets I found,

"The Red Planet is about to be spectacular."

"Earth is catching up with Mars [for] the closest approach between the two planets in recorded history."

"Mars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye"

And finally, "NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN."

Only the first sentence is true. The Red Planet is about to be spectacular. The rest is a hoax.

These articles & e-mails I got was so misleading and I’m sure it could easily arouse the curiosity of the public and make them really believe it. In fact I met few students who were very keen on the topic & really believed that it’s having a close approach as they show off. They were asking why the NASA or anyone sending astronauts to the Mars if it was getting so close. I know, for anyone in touch with Astronomy, this is hilarious, but as an astronomy student it was my duty to get them into the reality, with a great effort, I convinced them the truth. I can still remember how disappointed they were when they realized that they have misled. 

Mars Reality
Let’s check what’s really happening. Earth and Mars are converging for a close encounter this year on October 30th at 0319 Universal Time. Distance: 69 million kilometers. To the unaided eye, Mars looks like a bright red star, a pinprick of light, certainly not as wide as the full Moon.
Disappointed? Don't be. If Mars did come close enough to rival the Moon, its gravity would alter Earth's orbit and raise terrible tides.  
Sixty-nine million km is good. At that distance, Mars shines brighter than anything else in the sky except the Sun, the Moon and Venus. The visual magnitude of Mars on Oct. 30, 2005, was -2.3. Even inattentive sky watchers noticed it, raised at sundown and soaring overhead at midnight.

Mars 2003 Vs 2005

You might remember another encounter with Mars, about two years ago, on August 27, 2003. That was the closest in recorded history, by a whisker, and millions of people watched as the distance between Mars and Earth shrunk to 56 million km. This October's encounter, at 69 million km, is similar. To casual observers, Mars will seem about as bright and beautiful in 2005 as it was in 2003.

Let’s see some comparison of 2003 & 2005,

Mars in 2005 Compared to 2003*

Mars                                       2003                                        2005 

Won't Be As Close                0.34 AU                                    0.46 AU (24% farther) 
Appear as Bright mag.        -2.9 mag.                                  -2.3 (58% dimmer) 
Appear as Large                  25.1"                                          20.2" (20% smaller) 
   
   
  

                                 Mars will not appear larger than 20 arc sec until 2018! 

*Notes on Units
1. Astronomical Unit (AU) Essentially the mean distance between Sun and Earth
  (about 93 million mi or 150 million km). 
2. magnitude (mag) An astronomical unit of brightness (brighter has lower assigned number).
3. arc second (arc sec or " ) Angular unit of measure = 1/3600 of a degree (°).
 (Moon's angular diameter is about 1800 arc sec.) 

                                               Mars’ position in its orbit in 2003 & 2005

Catch the Red Planet

I can hear someone saying, O.K. October 30th is over, so can we still see the Mars? Of course you can still observe it. Oct 30th was the peak. 

What can amateurs easily see?

If you have a good four-inch (or more) telescope (refractors are favored)will easily show the waxing and waning polar caps and many dark markings. With larger telescopes, Mars subtle dark areas should be easily seen. With a Mars ’chart in hand, Olympus Mons, the solar system ’s largest volcano, shows as a white spot and Vallis, Marinaris should be easy to spot. Blue filters bring out Martian clouds, so you can even watch its weather. I hate to say this, but those who are with a telescope is very lucky that they could see the features. 
 

Well what about those who don’t have telescopes, the “naked eye observers”? Don’t worry you can still do some observations. Get hold of a star chart (available from Astronomy & Space Study Center). Try to figure out the constellations Pisces & Aries. Mars is lying between these two constellations. Everyday at a same time (if possible), plot the Mars’ position in the sky in the star chart. It’s one of the visual observations you could do.
Then again if you are familiar with the visual magnitudes of the stars, you can also include the magnitude of Mars and observe it’s fading magnitude when the days passing by.

As it approaches Earth, it will swell from a small apparent disk of 6" in April 2005 to a maximum diameter on October 30, 2005, and then shrink as it moves away. Opposition occurs on November 7, 2005. April 2005 throughout February 2006 are the prime observing months.

Although this time Mars is not close enough as 2003, it’s close enough to have some GOOD Observing! So go out at night and admire this Red Planet lies high in the sky. If you are armed with a telescope, I urged you to do some observation and sketch the Mars as possible. If you do so, don’t forget to send a copy of your observation to me.
As I get busy with observing Mars, I wish all with a clear sky & good observing. Now go ahead and catch the Mars.

Clear Skies & Keep Looking UP!!!

Thilina Heenatigala.

Observing Coordinator

Astronomy & Space Study Center Piliyandala.