OPPOSITION SETS UP BRIGHT MARS

Just when I was missing the planet Venus from my evening skies, I looked out my window early one morning and there she was, dancing brilliantly above the tree tops. Venus was at maximum brightness on May 5. Bright planets never go away, they just pop up someplace else.

Also, just when I was beginning to miss the great views of Jupiter and Saturn, here comes Mars. Mars does not rise until midnight early in the month but by month's end is up at sunset. When a planet is opposite the Sun (opposition) we see it fully illuminated and the distance between us and the planet becomes a minimum until the next encounter.

Usually we assume the planets have circular orbits (since they are nearly so), but one of the places where you can tell the difference is during opposition. This particular opposition of Mars promises to give us one of the best views since 1988. Since the opposition occurs when Mars is closest to the Sun and Earth is furthest, the distance between the two planets is near its all-time minimum.

This means Mars will look brighter and bigger than it usually is. It will be an easy target in the southeast when it does rise. The magazine "Sky and Telescope," which can be found at several local newsstands, has an excellent article describing all the particulars about this opposition. Before midnight on Thursday, Mars and the gibbous Moon will make a pretty sight.

Even though this is a good opposition for Mars you will still need a moderate-sized telescope to see much detail. While any telescope will reveal its deep, rich red color, a six-inch or larger telescope is usually needed to make out the polar ice caps and the dark green regions around the equator.

Scientists once thought Mars was alive and habitable, especially Percival Lowell. Percival was a wealthy Bostonian who, in 1894, built an observatory in northern Arizona just to study Mars. Lowell Observatory and the telescope used by Percival are still in Flagstaff and during several nights visitors can view Mars through the same telescope much as Percival did. The mountain peak is called Mars Hill, by the way.

The Milky Way begins to peek above the eastern horizon but we need another month before it is noticeable early in the evening. The Big Dipper is still near overhead. If you follow the curve of the handle of the Big Dipper it will point to a bright, red star Arcturus. Another bright, red star Antares can be found in Scorpius in the southeast.

These stars are both red giants and are so large that they would engulf the Earth if it were to replace our sun.

The sun is in the middle of its maximum sunspot cycle and has been producing large flares which, if they reach the Earth, can produce huge aurora displays. One display last June was seen as far south as Mexico.

So enjoy the clear dry spring weather while you can before the summer humidity. Sun, Moon, planets or aurora, May has some good viewing for them all.