Week of Oct. 28-Nov. 3, 2018
It was Halloween eve in 1938. Millions of war-jittery Americans listened as special news bulletins reported that the tiny town of Grover's Mill, New Jersey, had been captured by invaders from Mars.
It was only a radio play — a recreation of H.G. Wells' story "War of the Worlds" — cleverly disguised as a newscast by the radio magic of Orson Welles.
Those who tuned in late, however, didn't know, and many were panic-stricken. Police and military switchboards lit up, and the quiet of that October Sunday evening was shattered by a horrible yet totally imaginary invasion from Mars.
If you've ever seen the eerie orange glow of Mars in the sky, you can certainly understand how the Red Planet has inspired the human imagination since people first began looking skyward ages ago. And now, 80 years after that famous broadcast, it's a great time to check out Mars for yourself.
Mars now appears against the stars of the constellation Capricornus, which, of course, lie trillions of miles farther than the planet. While it now lies 73 million miles from Earth — more than twice as far and seven times fainter than it was during its close encounter in late July — it's still quite bright. Head outdoors shortly after dark and you will see Mars midway up in the southern sky. You'll have a hard time missing it since it outshines everything else in this area of the sky.
As a planet, Mars orbits the sun. And the combination of orbital motions of the Earth and Mars allows us to watch Mars' position change in the sky. Stargazers who keep a close eye on the Red Planet over the next few days and weeks will notice how it drifts past the stars of Capricornus in the direction of Aquarius to its east.
Near the end of October, Mars appears just to the west of the stars Nashira and Deneb Algiedi, which make up the eastern vertex of Capricornus. By Nov. 1, Mars will have passed by Nashira, and only four days later, it will pass by Deneb Algiedi. On Nov. 10, Mars will officially enter the celestial region known as Aquarius, and on Nov. 15, the first quarter moon will appear to pass just below Mars in the sky. By then, however, Mars will lie 10 million miles farther and will appear 2.3 times fainter than it was in late October.
If you own a small telescope — or visit your local planetarium or amateur astronomy club — now's the time to check out Mars before it recedes too far to show much. If sky conditions are good and you can magnify the image well, you should easily see its gibbous phase, and possibly even some dark surface features against the red sands. Be warned, however. Mars will appear small and continue to shrink as it recedes from the Earth in upcoming weeks.
Hard to believe it's been 80 years since Orson Welles captured the attention of the world. Do yourself a favor and get out on Halloween eve to pay tribute to Mars, perhaps while listening to the original radio broadcast here: youtube.com/watch?v=Xs0K4ApWl4g.
And have a great Halloween!
Visit Dennis Mammana at dennismammana.com. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
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