Mars orbit closest to Earth since 2003

Beginning last weekend and continuing through the rest of the week, Mars and Earth are aligned with the sun and the two planets are separated by a mere 43 million miles -- the closest they've been since August 2003 when they were 35 million miles apart. \nMars is Earth's closest neighbor, even though a gap of more than 140 million miles usuallly separates the two planets' oval-shaped orbits within the solar system. \nAbout 300 campus community members examined the so-called Red Planet through the Kirkwood Observatory's 12-inch refractor telescope lens Saturday night to capitalize on the closeness.\nMars and the Earth will not orbit together as close as they are this week for another 13 years or so, astronomers predict, and the 43 million miles currently separating the two planets is the closest gap in thousands of years besides their 2003 encounter.\n"Try to put it into context. Mars is a planet humans will potentially walk on or have a colony there someday," said Heather Jacobson, an astronomy graduate student, before she rotated the slit-like opening in the observatory's wooden dome clockwise. \n"Light is emitted from the sun to Mars. The light is reflected off of the planet back to Earth through the telescope's lens to your eye," she continued. "That makes you part of the solar system. It gives you a sense of the size and scale of the planet, which is similar to Earth in many ways. It also gives you a sense for how big the universe is."\nJacobson prepped the crowd before they stepped up to the telescope lens by describing what they might see -- "a bright orange dot shimmering a little bit with a darkish center that is a canyon and a white tip that is a polar ice cap."\nBeginning at 10 p.m. Saturday in the Kirkwood Observatory, Mars-viewing participants formed a single file line, which then wrapped around the telescope, down a flight of stairs and out the observatory door about 50 yards into Dunn Woods toward the Student Building. Similar to an amusement park ride, would-be viewers spent an hour or so in line before reaching the telescope for a brief look at Mars from the comfort of Earth.\nSt. Louis resident Art Stanze said he visited the Kirkwood Observatory Saturday night with his wife, Bloomington resident Rebecca Stanze, because it was "something to do," and they are both interested in astronomy.\n"(Mars) was cool, and it was interesting to see an antique observatory," Art said. "All I could see was an orange disc because of the distortion from the atmosphere. I could see how someone who was expecting to see detail on Mars would be disappointed."\n"But it is very important for everyone to understand their place in the universe," Rebecca added.\n"And it helps your psyche to look up once and a while," Art concluded.\nCatherine Pilachowski, an IU astronomy professor who directed the Mars-viewing show Saturday night, said space telescopes offer the only clear view of Mars thus far for humans because the atmospheric distortion produced when light travels millions of miles affects the sharpness of the telescopic image from Earth.\nShe said the best telescopic view of the Red Planet on land is found on mountain tops in colder regions of the planet. \nMars rises into the sky about 15 minutes after the sun dips below the horizon, and the Red Planet moves east to south throughout the night. Students and residents searching for Mars this week using their naked eyes should look for a bright orange dot dominating the otherwise white-starred nightscape.\nJacobson said Mars provides a reference for where Earth is located in relation to the other planets. She said the planet Venus, a bright white dot, can also be spotted due west at sunset during the fall starscape.\n"When I think about the planets and the solar system it makes me feel insignificant, and I actually enjoy feeling that way," she said. "If I have a bad day or I am feeling stressed out, I am reminded of the tiny part I play in life, and it makes my problems and stresses go away. The planets are beautiful to see and remarkable to think about"