Mars Viewing

The proximity of Mars to our planet earth sparked some devastating events. Here are some pictures of the Okanagan Fire in the summer of 2003:

Mars Viewing written by Chris McRae

August and September 2003, Earth caught up with Mars, an encounter that culminates in the closest approach between the two planets in recorded history.  The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287.  Due to the way Jupiter's gravity tugs on Mars and perturbs its orbit, astronomers can only be certain that Mars has not come this close to Earth in the last 5,000 years but it may be as long as 60,000 years.

The encounter culminated on August 27th when Mars came to within 34,649,589 miles and was (next to the moon) the brightest object in the night sky. It attained a magnitude of -2.9 and appeared 25.11 arc seconds wide.

At a modest 75-power magnification Mars looked as large as the full moon to he naked eye. Mars was easy to spot. At the beginning of August Mars  rose in the east at 10 p.m. and reached its azimuth at about 3 a.m. But by the end of August when the two planets are closest, Mars rose at nightfall and reached its highest point in the sky at 12:30 a.m. That's pretty convenient when it comes to seeing something that no human has seen in recorded history.