Mars, 2003
Mars
"The Bringer of War"
Mars, 2003
As summer gives way to fall, planet Mars will become ever brighter and larger in the skies above the northern hemisphere. Mars reached it's closest approach to Earth in 2003 in nearly 60,000 years. However, to northern hemisphere observers, the planet in 2003 was low in the southern horizon. This position caused the planet's light to travel through more of our atmosphere obscuring the view. In 2005, the planet will not be as close but will be higher in the sky giving a much better view.
Mars will reach it's closest point to Earth on October 30 and reaches opposition on November 7. On October 30, Mars will have a diameter of 20.2 arc seconds. It will be at or above 20 arc seconds from October 23 through November 6. The planet will provide fine viewing from the second week of August through the first week of January, 2006. The larger volcanoes of Mars will be visible through modest telescopes along with changes in the cloud patterns and/or dust storms.
Much more detailed information can be found at the following website: http://www.tnni.net/~dustymars/Article_2005.htm
It should be noted that for some time a false email is rapidly being circulated through the web giving inaccurate information about this year's approach of Mars. The majority of this information pertains to the 2003 approach but has been altered to appear as the 2005 approach. Trash it!
Below is a photo album created by OVAL members as Mars continues its approach closer to Earth. Any member who wishes to submit a photo, please do so. Send it to the email address on the OVAL main page.
