I was just reading in our local astronomer's column that this year will mark the closest approach of Mars to Earth in at least 73,000 years!
He continues, "Let me hasten to add that Mars will be getting only a little bit closer to Earth than it does once every 15 or 17 years.
"Still, late this summer we will be seeing the Red Planet noticeably brighter in our skies and bigger in telescopes than at any time in our lives. And technically a bit better in most respects than at any time in tens of thousands of years.
"This will be THE year of Mars."
(deliberately ignoring the astrological implications of this) I'll be looking forward to choice glimpses of Mars this year!
the world of amateur astronomy is pretty coolI've been attending, for a number of years now, a free Skywatch sponsored by the South Jersey Astronomy Club whenever there's a major celestial event (and on every other Friday during the summer, weather permitting). They have many of the most powerful telescopes in the state set-up for public viewing, and the location on a large field in the heart of Belleplain State Forest here in the middle of Cape May County, is considered to be the darkest spot in the Southern part of the state. It's really rekindled my love of the stars for me that goes back to my Boy Scout days, school trips to the Hayden Planetarium at the Museum of Natural in New York, and my youth in the mountains when light pollution was so sparse the stars were still like a blanket covering the night sky. Now, in many places, if you can make out the Big Dipper (Ursus Major), you're lucky. I even got my sister-in-law's 9 year old niece hooked on it...got her a small telescope for Christmas two years ago, and watching the meteor showers, and interested in the Aurora Borealis (online photos...rare around here, but once in a while.) Now, once again, I always make time for the stars.
