Mars to shine bright!

Do not miss it! Mars to shine brightest on 13 Oct, won't happen again until 2035!!

In exciting news for space enthusiasts, Mars will shine brighter than at any other point in the year, on 13 Oct. The Red Planet will not appear this bright again till the next 15 years, so make sure you don't miss this opportunity.

Notably, Mars is the closest planet to Earth and the fourth closest to the Sun. What is the reason?

According to Sky and Telescope, this is because Mars will be in 'opposition', directly opposite the Sun, making it shine along Earth's horizon in the northern hemisphere.

This opposition will be extra special due to the orbits of Earth and Mars lining up to be at their closest to each other. That's when Mars will be at its absolute brightest point for the year, rising at sunset and remaining up until sunrise.

On that day, Mars will also be at its maximum apparent size when viewed through telescopes. "October is a great time for viewing Mars, as the planet is visible all night right now and reaches its highest point in the sky around midnight. This period of excellent visibility coincides with the event known as opposition, which occurs about every two years when Mars is directly on the opposite side of Earth from the Sun", Nasa wrote in a sky watching guide.

"This is also around the time when Mars and Earth come closest together in their orbits, meaning the Red Planet is at its brightest in the sky, so don't miss it", it further said.

By the end of November, Mars will be only a quarter as bright.

How to watch?

You'll be able to look for Mars when the Sun is setting and sky gazers in the northern hemisphere will be in a better position to spot it. Sky watchers can just use a pair of binoculars to watch Mars and even a cell phone with a quality camera on it. You can also view this phenomenon with a naked eye.

Source. India.com via dailyhunt.

Tailpiece.

It was real heavy rain, along with thunder and lightning, all through the night thanks to the trough of low over the Bay of Bengal. Had got up at 6, the chores and was ready by a half past 9. Spoke to two of my classmates, Sudhakar and Jojy - I was speaking to the former after a lapse of almost eight years and he stays pretty close, at Palakkad. It was his birthday. The Harisree Department Store rep delivered our monthly stock of grocery, soon after lunch. 

Attended an interesting webinar by NN Panicker, International expert in Gandhian Philosophy and in Ocean Engineering on the topic, "Sahajivan Swaraj for a green economy". It was between 1500-1630 hrs. It did cut into my siesta but was definitely worth it!

The servicing of the Chevy got over around 1800 hrs and hence, told them that they could deliver it tomorrow morning.