As a VERY amatuer astronomer (only two telescopes, one pair of binoculars, some cheap software, and a fair knowledge of the night sky, I love staying abreast of the lastest interstellar news. Mars is getting the big attention lately, and now is a great time to take the scopes out and get some quiet time with one of our closest neighbors in the sky.

Rich

AS MARS’ ORBIT NEARS EARTH, USE OUR TUTORIAL TO BECOME A MORE INTELLIGENT LIFE-FORM
By KARALEE MILLER
Fort Worth Star Telegram
10/26/2005

Space lovers everywhere are seeing red this week — and they couldn’t be happier.

Mars is the talk of the galaxy right now as its orbit inches closer and closer to our humble abode, Earth. The big moment comes into full view Saturday. And you know what that means — break out the telescopes; set up the lawn chairs; call a friend.

Mars will come closest to Earth at about 10:20 p.m. Oct. 29, when it will be a stone’s throw from Earth at 43.1 million miles. Mars will reach opposition to the sun — it will be opposite the sun from our view here on Earth — on Nov. 7.

Although it won’t be as close as it was two years ago — when it drew closer to Earth than it has been in nearly 60,000 years — it still will be a sight to see.

Armed with a telescope, sky gazers should be able to make out many of the planet’s surface details, like bright clouds, large dust storms and polar caps, says Karen Massey, an assistant at the Noble Planetarium at the Fort Worth (Texas) Museum of Science and History.

“What’s interesting about this event that’s different from August 2003 is that Mars is farther north and higher in the sky this time, so we’re looking through less atmosphere,” she says. “It will have a better, clearer view.”

Oh, and if you think you’ll just catch this the next time it happens, patience had better be one of your virtues. The next time Mars will be closer than this: summer 2018.

Did you know Mars . . .

– is the fourth planet from the sun and the seventh largest?

– is the only planet with a surface that can be plainly seen and charted from Earth?

– has polar ice caps, clouds, dust storms and four seasons?

– shines brighter than anything else in the sky except the sun, moon and Venus?

– is about half the size of the Earth and twice the size of the moon?

– takes almost twice as long as the Earth to go around the sun?

– is named after the Roman god of war?

– would be a dieter’s dream? That’s because we’d all weigh less on Mars than we do here on Earth. Mars is less dense than Earth and has much less gravity.

Touchdown:

Three methods have been used to explore Mars: flybys, orbiters, and landers and rovers. NASA says future Mars exploration may use airplanes and balloons, subsurface explorers and sample returns.

Mariner 4 was the first spacecraft to have a successful flyby of Mars, on July 14, 1965, snapping the first pictures of Mars’ surface. The spacecraft was not expected to survive past its eight-month voyage, but it ended up lasting about three years in solar orbit.

Two Mars rovers — Spirit, above, and Opportunity — have been exploring sites on opposite ends of Mars since January 2004. They are now in the third extension of their missions.

Mars in pop culture

Our collective fascination with the red planet has yielded everything from great (and mediocre) literature to tasty small consumables and expensive Hollywood films. Arm yourself for your next Trivial Pursuit game with these facts:

“– War of the Worlds:” The sci-fi novel by H.G. Wells was published in 1898 and describes the invasion of Earth by Martians. In 1938, Orson Welles presented it as a radio play, creating panic among some listeners. Movie director Steven Spielberg revisited the extraterrestrial storyline with this year’s film, starring Tom Cruise and the ubiquitous Dakota Fanning.

– Marvin the Martian: Looney Tunes got on the Mars bandwagon in 1948 by introducing Marvin the Martian in the short cartoon film “Haredevil Hare”.

– Mars Bars: Can’t seem to get your hands on a yummy Mars Bar these days? Just reach for a Snickers Almond Bar. Confused? Don’t be. The folks at Mars Inc. stopped marketing the candy bar in the United States as the Mars Bar and now sell it as the Snickers Almond Bar. However, elsewhere in the world, the same candy bar is sold as the Mars Almond bar.

“– Veronica Mars”: This junior detective lives in a town called Neptune and sports the last name Mars. No wonder fans think the show and its star, Kristen Bell, are out of this world.

“– Mars Attacks!” Wacky film director Tim Burton gave audiences this 1996 sci-fi spoof about Martians invading Earth that has become a cult favorite.

“– Red Planet”: Val Kilmer, Carrie-Anne Moss and Benjamin Bratt jumped aboard this 2000 flick about astronauts searching Mars to find ways to save Earth. The movie’s original title was “Mars”, but was changed to avoid confusion with the Brian D Palma-directed “Mission to Mars”, released the same year.

“– Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus”: In 1993, counselor and author John Gray gave readers something to think about with his book about how the sexes can learn to better understand, relate to and appreciate each other. Many found his advice down-to-earth, while others thought he should buy a one-way ticket to Pluto.

– Blondie: This new wave group, led by rock diva Debbie Harry, gave music listeners this little lyrical gem in 1981’s “Rapture” — “‘Cause the man from Mars stopped eatin’ cars and eatin’ bars/And now he only eats guitars” The song was the first chart-topping rap single.

Face time

Some people believe a mysterious “face” on Mars is evidence that there is life on the Red Planet. The face was discovered in 1976 by NASA’s Viking 1 spacecraft while it was scoping potential landing sites for its sister ship. Mission controllers noticed a likeness of a human face jutting from the ground in the planet’s Cydonia region.

After much talk and further investigation, most planetary scientists agree the face was created when unusual lighting conditions fell upon a Martian hill. But that hasn’t killed speculation — or Hollywood’s interest.

The face has been used as a plot device in the TV shows “The X-Files” and “Futurama” and the film “Mission to Mars.”

SOURCES: Fort Worth Museum of Science and History; http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov; www.planetary.org; www.mars.com; http://science.nasa.gov; “Entertainment Weekly”; www.imdb.com