Mars as large as the full moon to the naked eye? Don’t believe it!
 Mars in 2005 as imaged in Flandrau's 16-inch Telescope |
Again fueling public interest about Mars this year is a recurring e-mail hoax, which made its first appearance on the Internet in 2003 (before the record close apparition of Mars to Earth that year) and then resurfaced again for the excellent apparition of Mars in 2005. The e-mail blends false and true statements about the record close apparition of Mars in August 2003. Several portions of this hoax e-mail, though true for Mars in August 2003, are untrue for Mars this year, and the e-mail’s third paragraph (is especially misleading (much of it is simply not true). The current e-mail states that a view of Mars in a telescope with a magnification of 75 power shows Mars as equal in apparent size as the Moon would appear to the naked eye without a telescope (true for 2003). However because of formatting and large, bold type it can be easily read to mean both will appear the same size to the naked eye: an impossibility since Mars would have to be 74 times closer to Earth (than its closest possible) to appear as large as the Moon to the naked eye. This e-mail hoax was the number one urban legend as rated by About.com (for the week ending 7/29/07) on its Urban Legends and Folklore Web site. An excellent resource on the Internet (which should be bookmarked) that evaluates such ‘chain-letter’ e-mails, in addition to giving useful information about internet rumours, fanciful images, hoaxes, and urban legends is http://www.snopes.com.
PLANETS IN THE SKY: MAY-SUMMER OF 2009
Find out more at Flandrau’s Skywatcher’s Guide
Late May and June 2009 offers best, last chance quality telescope views of Saturn and its ring system this year: The ringed planet is highest overhead in evening twilight during the first half of this month. By the second half of June Saturn is losing altitude in evening twilight. Saturn doesn’t set until after midnight during the first half of June but sets by 11:20 p.m. near the end of June. Although the ringed planet is somewhat dimmer this year (compared to previous years) because its rings are more edge-on, it is found conveniently high overhead in the constellation Leo the Lion during the evening hours (again, well placed for evening telescopic viewing). Saturn fades slightly during June to a 1st magnitude and 17 arc second wide star-like object.
Bright Jupiter continues to gains altitude and rise earlier each morning this May in the southeastern sky, and is now high enough for quality telescopic viewing, starting one hour before sunrise (especially during the last half of May). By the end of May the giant planet is easily seen over 40 degrees above the south-southeastern horizon 45 minutes before sunrise (from the southern United States). Jupiter is located in the constellation of Capricornus, the Sea Goat. The waning gibbous Moon will lie closest to Jupiter in our sky in the dawn twilight of Sunday morning, May 17. By the summer of 2009 Jupiter is the bright evening planet in our summer sky, not Mars.
In May 2009 the brilliant planet Venus starts the month some 15 degrees above the eastern horizon in the bright morning twilight, 30-35 minutes before sunrise and gains altitude, rising higher, earlier during the entire month to reach 22 degrees in altitude at that time by May 31. As it does so its crescent phase thickens and becomes smaller to almost half lit by the end of May, as Venus moves farther away from Earth (the opposite of its phase changes and visibility in February-March). Venus is over 6 degrees from faint Mars (below and ‘left’ of the brilliant world) and the two close to 5 degrees apart by the end of May above the eastern dawn horizon. The razor thin 26-day-old waning crescent Moon will lie closest to Mars and Venus in our sky in the dawn twilight of Thursday morning, May 21. Mars is still a long ways off from Earth (hence its faintness compared to Venus) and so is currently an unremarkable object in a telescope.
An excellent place to view planets is through Flandrau’s 16-inch observatory telescope. Flandrau’s 16-inch telescope is open for viewing during public hours, weather permitting, Wednesday through Saturday nights (excluding select holidays), from 7-10 p.m. Flandrau’s 16-inch telescope is the only free public telescope open on a regular basis in the state of Arizona. The telescope is normally open from approximately 7-10 p.m. (Wed-Sat), weather permitting. Donations are requested for observatory viewing, and the observatory is available for private rental on request.
For detailed sky charts to find Mars, Jupiter and other planets now visible in the sky go to Flandrau’s Skywatchers’ Guide.