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For the second straight night, the physics department will set up four telescopes on March Field to observe Mars as it nears for Earth’s closest look at the planet in thousands of years.
Last night yielded good views of Mars and its polar ice cap after 10:30 p.m. The skies should be more clear tonight, when observation will start at 10 p.m. If time permits, other celestial objects will be observed as well.
Although the planet will be slightly farther away than it was yesterday, the difference will not be perceptible.
Assistance with the telescopes and commentary will be provided by David Hogenboom, professor emeritus of physics; Michael Stark, assistant professor of physics; and physics major Mindy Saia ’04 (Turnersville, N.J.). Hogenboom and Stark also will provide commentary and answer questions.
“We want to caution people not to expect to see the kind of images of Mars that have appeared in magazines and newspapers recently,” notes Hogenboom. “Those were either taken from spacecraft or they are telescopic images using long-exposure photographs or many superimposed digital images. If conditions are good, viewers are likely to see a small, yellow-orange, slightly fuzzy ball with occasionally a glimpse of a slim white icy polar cap on one edge. However, this will be the real, unadulterated, unprocessed Mars as it glows low in the southeastern sky and we hope that will more than make up for the lack of detail.”