"The bright reddish object" - only 56 million kilometers from Earth
Yuval Dror
Direct link to this page https://www.hayadan.org.il/mars270803.html
Mars will not kill you
The planet Mars is today about 56 million kilometers away from Earth, for the first time in almost 60 thousand years. "Whoever looks towards the southeast this evening will see a reddish and bright object. This is Mars. It will be the brightest object in the sky, with the exception of the moon," explains Robert Bartz, head of astrophysics at the Science, Technology and Space Museum in Haifa.
In various regions of Israel, groups were organized to observe the star together, and in the United States there was a shortage of telescopes.
Today: Mars is at its smallest distance from Earth in about 60 thousand years
If the "little green people" are planning an invasion from Mars, they better get going. A rare cosmic event meant that today at noon the planet will be found at the smallest distance from Earth in tens of thousands of years - a distance of 55,758,006 million km. The last time Mars was this close to Earth was in 56,617 BC. According to Robert Bartz, Head of Astrophysics at the Science, Technology and Space Museum in Haifa, Mars cannot be missed: "Whoever looks toward the southeast this evening will see a reddish and shiny object. This is Mars. It will be the brightest object in the sky, except for the moon."
Mars approaches Earth periodically once every two years. The closest point of Mars to the Sun is called the "perihelion point", and usually the biannual meetings of the Earth and Mars do not take place near it. Every few decades the meeting takes place near the perihelion, and then the distance of Mars from us is smaller than usual, as is the case today.
In several regions of the country, groups were organized for joint viewing. For example, at Bental Mountain above the Golan, which rises to a height of about 1,200 meters above sea level, there will be a free guided viewing this evening. However, according to Bartz, even those equipped with an advanced telescope will not be able to see any details on Mars, as can be seen when looking at the moon. "The atmosphere makes it difficult for us and anyway it is a very large distance. In the best case, it will be possible to identify the south pole of Mars as a brighter region on the planet," Bartz said. Although the light of Mars will be 4,000 times stronger than the light of the faintest planet, to the naked eye it will look like a half shekel coin from a distance of 200 meters.
The operators of the Hubble telescope, on the other hand, intend to use the opportunity to take pictures that should be the sharpest and clearest of those taken so far by the telescope. Hubble, which circles the Earth at an altitude of about 600 km, will take pictures in areas smaller than 24 square km. However, there is no shortage of pictures of Mars. The Mars Global Surveyor, the space telescope that has been circling Mars since 97, took no less than 120 photos, some of which you can see details no bigger than a bus.
The Japanese, European and American space agencies also took advantage of the rare cosmic event to launch four spacecraft towards Mars. A trip to Mars usually takes 12-10 months, but due to the proximity between the planets it will last only seven months this time. Starting in January, the "Mars craze" is expected to resume, in view of the new data provided by the spacecraft. They are supposed to land special space vehicles on Mars, which will carry out experiments that may shed light on the question of whether life existed on Mars in the past.
Meanwhile, the news agencies are reporting a severe shortage of telescopes in the US. Telescope sales in Japan doubled compared to last year. Rumors are circulating on the Internet that Mars will cause climatic changes on Earth, claims that have no basis. In India, astrologers blamed Mars for the deadly explosion that killed 52 people yesterday.
Those who miss the opportunity to watch Mars tonight, will be able to enjoy it in the coming weeks as well.
