NE Campus to scope far out of this world
by Rawly Bransom, Sports Editor

    Not since the time of the cavemen have humans been able to glimpse the mysteries of Mars this close to Earth.
    The red planet will be at its closest point to Earth in more than 60,000 years. In late August, Mars will appear six times larger and 85 times brighter than usual.
    " Mars is a small planet. You can fit eight Mars-sized planets inside Earth, so people are normally disappointed at its size. All they usually see is a reddish orange ball," Raymond Benge, associate professor of physics, said.
    NE Campus will set up viewing of Mars to the public on the lawn of the NSCE building at 9 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 28.
    This event will allow people a chance to look at Mars, maybe for the fist time, through a telescope. Also a TV set-up will allow viewing for everyone.    
   On Thursday, the Sun, Earth and Mars will be in opposition, forming a straight line. The rotations of Mars and the Earth allow that to happen only every 15 to 17 years, but this upcoming date will be even better since Mars will be 34,646,418 miles from Earth.
    Mars will be brighter than Jupiter or any of the stars; only the Moon and Venus will be brighter during this time.
    " We chose to view Mars on the Aug. 28 because it rises earlier; it gives people who might not get to see the other events a chance to view Mars. If there are clouds on Aug. 27, people will have a second chance for viewing," Benge said.
    The event will start with a short presentation while Mars begins to rise, and then the public observations will begin.
    " Mars is a key in astronomy classes. It is most visible at the end of August, but it will continue to rise earlier each night. By the end of fall it will rise before sunset and be at its peak by the time it is visible.