Starwatch Newsletter Minnesota Starwatch is a newsletter describing the night sky in the Midwest. It is updated monthly, and is produced by the Department of Astronomy, University of Minnesota 116 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455

All eyes are on Mars this month, as it brightens and swells to its largest size ever on August 27th. It looks big and bright just because we are coming very close to it - this will be our closest approach in some 60,000 years. On August 27th Mars will be some 35 million miles away, that's 56 million kilometers, or about 150 times further than the moon. On the average it's closer to 200 million miles away, so this is quite a special occasion.

As we look at Mars, let's wish a good journey to the two Mars Rover spacecraft, named Spirit and Opportunity, launched on June 10th and July 7th of this year. They are scheduled to arrive at Mars next January after a short and very fast trip. If they make a safe landing, the rovers will then roll out from the landers and begin their second journeys, traveling around the surface of Mars studying the rocks and soil. Each rover contains a geological toolkit of instruments designed to find traces of water or evidence for the presence of water in the past. And they have cameras on board, so we can get a rover's-eye-view of the landscape as they travel.

Besides Mars, there are not many planets visible this month, as both Jupiter and Venus are more or less in the direction of the sun, so we cannot see them for awhile. The moon will be full on the 12th, which is a bit unfortunate for people who plan to go out on the 13th to see the Perseid meteor shower. This is usually one of the most dramatic times to watch for shooting stars, but the full moon this year will make it harder to see the fainter meteors.

Later in the month, when the moon will not be rising until late in the night, is a great time to look for the Milky Way. The center of the Galaxy is due south around 9 pm, in the constellation Sagittarius. We see the bright band of the Milky Way coming from Sagittarius and Scorpius, in the southwest, up overhead through Cygnus the swan, and on into the northeast through Cassiopeia. You need a dark site to be able to see the Milky Way; if you're far away from the city and any other bright lights, and you stay outside in the dark long enough for your eyes to adapt, the Galaxy is quite a spectacular sight in late August.

For those interested in the Minnesota Astronomical Society, call 952-467-2426 for information their upcoming events.

Minnesota Starwatch is available on-line at http://www.astro.umn.edu/Outreach/pub_out.html

For fun Astronomy Outreach programs or how you can help build the new Minnesota Planetarium, please call 612-630-6151 or visit http://www.mplanetarium.org.

Como Planetarium is offering fun family shows about astronomy on a limited basis; please call 651-293-5398 for more info! This has been Minnesota Starwatch, produced by the University of Minnesota Astronomy Department.

Last Updated: Mon Jul 28 13:05:28 2003