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The Red Planet Meets Planet Blue

The long awaited close approach of the Mars will soon be upon us. As the days tick away, leading up to the October 29 th event, our worlds are closing in on each other at almost 40,000 kilometres per hour. You do not have to wait till the end of the month to glimpse our planetary neighbour. Step outdoor on the next clear night after 8:00 p.m. and look in the eastern sky. That bright yellowish orange beacon is indeed the red planet.

Unfortunately, a few months ago there was a bogus email flying around stating Mars was about to appear as large as the Moon on August 28 th of this year. I don't know how wrong news travels so fast. Truth to the matter is the last time our world met close up was on the night of August 28, 2003, but did not grow to the outrageous size. Star parties around the world invited the general public to local parks and dark sites to view Mars through telescopes. Here in town, the Ottawa Valley Astronomy and Observers Group (OAOG) set up an arsenal of telescopes affixed on the jewel of the night. I was on hand with my twelve and a half inch Newtonian reflecting telescope. This local event saw around three thousand people, many of which were children, stare through telescopes and ask many questions. It was great to see whole families share this magical night as faces young and old lit up. It is an event I will never forget.

Measuring half the size of the Earth, our planetary neighbour has been in the news during the past decade or so. We have always had a fascination with this particular world to the tune of the presence of water in its past and the search for the possibility of life. In fact as you are reading this article, the two robot landers named Spirit and Opportunity are some twenty-two months into its mission of sampling soil samples and beaming back stupendous pictures. Not bad for a mission that was only expected to last only a mere ninety days

Over time Mars has laid the setting for numerous science fiction stories and movies. This probably started back in 1788 as the astronomer Chaparelli exclaimed he observed, what appeared to be roadways of a great civilization. Then came the famed radio broadcast by H.G. Wells and the Mercury Theatre in their life like breaking news that being from Mars were landing on Earth. This of course was false but many people feared this was a true invasion. Unfortunately some even committed suicide. And the date of the hoax - October 30, 1938. What a Halloween prank.

Mars sports two moons both of which are less than 30 kilometres each. Although it has a small atmosphere, the red planet dues have seasonal change from its 25 degree tilt on its axis, compared to Earth's 23.5 degree inclination. Temperatures are a lot colder than any place on Earth. This world also produces raging dust storms in the range of 300 - 400 kilometres per hour kicking up dust as light as talcum powder. These events can and have cloaked the entire planet such as the summertime apparition in 2001. Instead of seeing landmarks and a polar cap, telescopes showed an orange billiard ball. The bad news is there seems to be storms brewing on the surface so those with telescope, observe it now.

The Ottawa Centre of the Royal Astronomical will be hosting public viewing on Saturday October 29, 2005, at the historic sight of Pinhey's Point in Kanata. Members will have their telescopes trained on the jewel of the sky. This is a free event for the general public. In fact on the night before, you are welcome to the Ottawa Centre's monthly meeting at the Canada Science & Technology Museum. The meeting lasts from 8 - 10 p.m. Check out their website of call 830-3381 (a recorded message).

Clear skies,
Gary Boyle
garyboyle@sympatico.ca

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