Aug. 19, 2003

Contact: Barbara Anthony-Twarog, astronomy and physics, (785) 864-3910.

KU astronomers: 'Late Night with Mars' once-in-a-lifetime view Aug. 27

LAWRENCE -- For an astronomical up-close event of a lifetime, the University of Kansas observatory will be open to the public from 10:30 p.m. Wednesday Aug. 27, to 1:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 28, on the rooftop of Lindley Hall for a "Late Night with Mars" -- if the weather is good for viewing.

Astronomers at KU and around the world are expecting a lot of public interest in viewing Mars on Aug. 27, when it will be at its closest point to Earth in 50,000 to 60,000 years.

The last time Mars was this close to Earth our planet was in the Ice Age, said Barbara Anthony-Twarog, KU professor of astronomy. Although Mars will be closer to the Earth, it will not appear large on the horizon, Anthony-Twarog said.

"It is the coincidence of these two events -- closest to Earth at nearly the same time as its closest approach to the sun -- which occurs every 15 to 17 years," Twarog explained.

"It is certainly bright -- nearly twice as bright as it was two years ago. But Mars is pretty far away still, 40 million or 50 million miles compared to the moon's 250,000 miles. Mars will be 70 times smaller than the full moon, so it won't be stunning for its size. It's still too small for the unaided eye to discern any features,ú she cautioned.

"We are planning to take advantage of our beautiful 19th-century Alvan Clark refractor, a nice instrument for something like this," Anthony-Twarog said. It is the oldest telescope in the KU observatory, given to KU in 1885, and the only telescope housed in Lindley Hall.

KU has 20 students majoring in astronomy, and Anthony-Twarog is recruiting them to volunteer to help with KU's Mars Night. She expects that several hundred people could turn out for the late night at Lindley. In July 1994, when the comet Shoemaker-Levy hit Jupiter, KU's observatory was open for three scheduled nights for public viewing. More than 800 people attended over those three nights.

Although Aug. 26 through 28 are the optimum dates for viewing, the "red planet" is easily visible low in the night sky within a few hours of midnight local time. "If you look south after 1 or 2 a.m. it will be the brightest thing up there," Anthony-Twarog said.

The exceptionally bright Mars will be observable worldwide. It should be easier to view Mars in the southern hemisphere because Mars will be higher in the sky, she said.

The Astronomy Associates of Lawrence, which includes KU faculty and students, will post updates on KU's Mars night on its Web site. Updates also will be available on the observatory phone line, (785) 864-3166.

Astronomy Associates of Lawrence is a group of amateur astronomers associated with KU. Its members engage in organized activities that promote interest in astronomy and discuss methods in amateur astronomy.