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VOL. 24. NO.2 SEPTEMBER 23, 2003

UCLA 4 U: Mars mania brings out planet gazers

Nearly 300 people eager to take advantage of Mars’ unusually close proximity to Earth stood patiently in long lines atop the 8th-floor roof of the Math Sciences Building on Sept. 3 to peer through five telescopes at the Red Planet and other celestial objects.

The Mars viewing, hosted by the Division of Astronomy and Astrophysics and its undergraduate and graduate students, drew so many people that the accompanying planetarium show, given by Art Huffman, a physics senior lecturer and amateur astronomer, had to be repeated three times to accommodate everyone.

“It was the largest crowd I’ve ever seen at a telescope viewing, and I’m starting my fourth year with the astronomy show,” said astronomy graduate student Seth Hornstein, one of the organizers. “The wonderful turnout shows that the public has a lot of interest in this field.”

Knowledgeable students handily answered questions from the crowd, which had a chance to view Mars through UCLA’s 14-inch telescope, its dome pulled open to the clear night sky. At other telescopes set up on the roof, people ogled at craters on the moon and saw a globular star cluster on a large screen, an image that was transmitted from UCLA’s 24-inch telescope before Mars rose high enough for the planet to be seen.

While many people thought the only time to view Mars was Aug. 26, when the planet came closer to Earth than it had in nearly 60,000 years, UCLA astronomers say good viewing of Mars will last through this month. In fact, it will still be relatively close in October, said Hornstein.

So take advantage of other opportunities to see the Red Planet. Open to the public, free planetarium shows, which start promptly at 8 p.m., and telescope viewing, which follows at 9 p.m., are hosted every Wednesday night during the school year. No tickets or reservations are required. For more details, go to www.astro.ucla.edu/planetarium.

— Cynthia Lee