Mars outshines all but the moon

By Sara Lin
Advertiser Staff Writer

It's been a long time since Mars passed this close to Earth.

Look into the sky this month and the red planet will outshine everything except the moon. Astronomers say this will be the closest approach of Mars in nearly 60,000 years.

Mars can be seen rising in the east around 8 p.m. and by early morning it's in the western sky. At its brightest on the evenings of Aug. 26 and 27 and Aug. 27 and 28, the planet will be 34.6 million miles away. When on the other side of the sun from Earth, Mars is 300 million miles away.

So Mars will be close, but keep in mind it's still just a dot in the sky. Look for the golden-orange light, brighter than any other.

"I'm getting about two to four calls a day about it," said Mike Shanahan, planetarium manager at Bishop Museum.

Bishop Museum will host a stargazing party on Aug. 27 from 8 p.m. to midnight. There will be telescopes on the lawn, planetary shows and Mars rover demonstrations for the kids.

"It's been really neat because during the last couple of nights especially, the moon and Mars are right next to each other. To see the moon shining (next to) Mars, it's spectacular," said star-gazer Joanne Bogan, who often attends dark-sky star parties, held monthly by the Hawaiian Astronomical Society.

"Mars is generally not that exciting," she said. "But now that it's so bright, it's hard to miss."