Red Planet may be visible as clouds clear

AHMEDABAD/VADODARA: If the overcast skies prevented you from checking out the fabled Martians with green bodies and antennae, when the Red Planet came closest to earth on Wednesday afternoon — being just 55.76 million km away — take heart.
For, all is not lost yet and experts say that Mars would not be moving away too soon. The rare phenomenon, which was last visible in 57,537 BC and will be next seen in August 2287, will be visible for the next one month.And once the sky clears, they can watch it shine bright.
Star gazers,who missed the opportunity to have a “close look� at Mars at the special viewing session organised by the Astronomy Club and the Young Astronomers Association here, are planning to wait for the skies to clear.
Retired scientist Prof J N Desai said star gazers should not let the overcast skies disappoint them. “Though it is closest now, it would not make much of a difference if it is seen next week. It would remain bright in the sky and the distance would not be too much even then,� he said.
“For a view through the telescope, the sky has to be absolutely clear. But even on a clear sky, the telescope has to be very powerful to see the different characteristics of the planet,� he added.
According to Pratham Amla of the Astronomy Club, many schools had also shown keen interest and wanted to bring their children to the community science centre here to watch the planet. “But we are still hoping that skies would clear up in the next few days and we can still watch the planet. For the next one month, it would be reasonably close to Earth and if we see through a telescope we might be able to see the planet’s North Pole,� he said.
In Vadodara, parents and children have been sore over the “monsoon playing pranks with the night sky and being a spoilsport�. However, organisers of star-gazing camps are hopeful of watching enough of the planet.
Said Mini Shah, a parent, “My children had school tests last week and could not make it to the Mars observation programme. And then, we had rains. But I am keen on taking them this week and hope it will be visible.�
Nirav Shah, a student of standard VI, said, “I have watched the slide shows on the solar system. Now, I have come to watch the show on Mars. However, I could not make it to Mars observation through telescope as it is late in the night.� Sixteen-year-old Sagar Shah felt the slide show helped him comprehend what he watches through the telescope.
For Vadodara, August has been the best month for star gazers.The last 10 days have seen serpentine queues in front of the Sardar Patel Planetarium for the Mars observation programme launched by the planetarium recently, with facility for a telescopic viewing of planet Mars.
“We have more than 200 people who visit the planetarium daily. The number is higher for the Mars observation programme though it is held between 9.30 pm and 10.30 pm,� said Manjusha Chakraborthy, director of the planetarium, who added that as the planet is visible nearer the horizon, the observation is now possible after dark.
“On Wednesday, when the Mars touched the perihelion (its closest point to the Sun). It will outshine Venus, Jupiter and Sirius. This yellowish-orange tinted planet brightens from magnitude -1.4 to -2.3, surpassing even Jupiter''s brilliance,� said Chakraborthy.