Red Planet comes into focus

This month the red planet is offering Earthbound humans a more intimate glimpse at its barren surface, polar ice cap and irregular moons. The last time Mars was this close, more than 60,000 years ago, Neanderthals were walking the Earth.

The rarity and opportunity of the occasion is enough to make many people glance curiously skyward when the sun goes down, and for the serious stargazer it's positively spine-tingling.

"The only things that are going to be brighter are Venus and the moon," said Burchell High science teacher Tim Lundt, who heads up the school's Stargate Observatory. Even with the bare eye, people will be able to spot the steady, red glare of the planet, and those with telescopes might be able to make out typically unseen details of the planet's surface.

Compared to June 21, Mars will appear to be twice as wide and six time as bright, according to NASA.

"Mars is just usually an orange ball," Lundt said. "I'm kind of excited."

But as the world celebrates its closer encounter with Mars, here in Alaska the excitement of the moment is somewhat dampened.

"There is a disadvantage, of course, with us and this latitude," Lundt explained. "The problem is that Mars comes up really low in the sky. If we didn't have the mountains, it would be great. We could have a really great view."

And Alaska throws in another big "if" -- if the weather cooperates. August and September are two of the rainiest, cloudiest months of the year and while the odds of Mars being this close are 1 in 60,000 years, there are nearly as dismal odds that the night sky will be clear.

Even if everything else falls into place, Lundt said it is doubtful the Burchell High observatory, equipped with one of the largest telescopes in the state, will be of much assistance to stargazers. He said he is in the process of equipping the observatory with a new control system, and it probably won't be ready in time for the closest encounter with Mars.

At the same time, he said, it might not even be possible to see Mars through the immense telescope because of the height of the walls of the observatory. None of this is enough to discourage Lundt, however. Talking with other astronomy enthusiasts with telescopes around the Valley, he said some of them have already gotten a clear enough view of the red planet to make out its polar cap. And under the right conditions, he said, people with powerful home telescopes might even be able to make out Mars' two moons.

"They're both irregular shaped, almost like asteroid moons," Lundt explained. "They're not real big, but if you maybe watch it over a few days, you'll be able to pick up the moons."

While technically-equipped stargazers might be able to see this level of detail, anyone with good eyes will be able to spot the exceptionally bright Mars in the sky. Aug. 27 will be the premier night to see the planet, but Lundt points out that already Mars is shining more brightly and will continue to do so throughout the winter, although at a decreasing intensity.

So what brings Mars so close to us? The natural orbital rotations of the planets in the solar system. At around 1:50 a.m. Aug. 27, Mars will come within 35 million miles of Earth -- a mind-boggling distance, but not so far in the grand scheme of the universe.

Astronomers, according to NASA, call these close encounters "perihelic oppositions," meaning that Mars is near its closest approach to the sun and the sun, earth and Mars are in a straight line, with Earth in the middle.

Mars and the sun are on opposite sides of the sky.

NASA reports that amateur astronomers around the world have already been able to see the south polar cap of the planet as well as some more darkly shaded areas on the surface of Mars.

"It's a great opportunity to study Mars," Lundt said. "And it's another good object for the kids to look at."

Lundt said exciting stargazing opportunities like this serve many purposes, including inspiring experienced fans but also attracting young and novice enthusiasts as well.

Lundt said his astronomy students will be taking a closer look at Mars later this year. And once again the school's observatory will be open weekly for the public to use as well.

Stargate will be open Thursday evenings during the months o September, October, November and December.

For more information about the observatory, interested people can call Burchell HIgh School at 373-7775 or the Stargate hotline at 355-9055.

And if you don't catch a glimpse of Mars this year, you might have to wait a while for another great view -- the next time Mars will be this close is the year 2287.