If you are lucky enough to have clear skies then you should step outside tonight and see Mars (magnitude -1.23) in its most brilliant display of the year as it moves quickly toward its opposition, the point when our planet, Mars, and the Sun are lined up, on January 29. Mars rises in the Eastern sky at 1828hrs EST and is best visible around midnight. Click here for a Starry Night screenshot showing Mars as it will appear at 1930hrs EST. While a small telescope will definitely show the round shape of Mars, a medium to large sized scope (recommended w/color filters) is necessary to bring out any of the red planet’s details. Assuming that the weather clears up at some point during the day I plan to set up my C9.25 and try to see Mars, but I am confident that the rain, snow, fog, and cloudy skies that have plagued Southwest Ohio for the last month will continue well into the rest of my life. If you live in the Southwest Ohio area and are up for a trip to Cincinnati, then check out the Cincinnati Observatory! They started an event on Thursday called Marsapalooza 2010 which gives the general public a chance to see the red planet as it approaches its closest distance to Earth on January 27. Marsapalooza 2010 lasts from January 21-24 and reservations are required. Call the Observatory at (513) 321-5186 or email Craig Neimi to RSVP.

Just as with any other close Mars approach, the famous “Mars Hoax E-mail” is once again making the rounds. I received one this morning in my university e-mail account and the person sending it had been worked into a frenzy. After explaining the origin and truth behind this message to so many people, I just felt shame. A lot of other space/astronomy websites and blogs have already debunked this annoying e-mail so I will simply point you in their direction. Suffice to say that at no point will Mars appear as large and detailed as the Moon. Our Moon is roughly 250,000 miles away and has an apparent magnitude of -12.6 while Mars is about 34,000,000 miles away with an apparent magnitude of -1.23. It would take a significant celestial event to move Mars anywhere near our world. SPACE.com’s article about the Mars approach has an excerpt at the bottom which explains the Mars Hoax E-mail. NASA has a page on the e-mail. Last but not least, there is a Wikipedia entry on the e-mail.

Image Credit: NASA