To say it's not every day that we can see Mars so clearly would be a major understatement.
Over the past week, the trajectories of Earth and the Red Planet brought these two hurtling astral bodies to their closest proximity in 60,000 years. That's a full 10,000 years before the fateful overlap period of modern homo sapiens, Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon hominids, which means that this is the first time in history that our species is conscious enough to become excited over such an event. And even in Taipei where there aren't many stars to gaze at anyway, that's what we've done.
All week, couples and families have been crowding parks looking into the sky for the orange spot that is Mars, while all across town there's been a lot of surprised pointing at the night sky, creating those odd moments when everyone in the area cranes their necks to find out what the fuss is all about.
PHOTO: AGENCIES
Even to the naked eye Mars was remarkably visible over the city this week, shining like an exceptionally bright star when all the other stars in the sky were barely visible through the haze and pollution.
To celebrate this historic moment, the Taipei Astronomical Museum stayed open until 2am on Wednesday to allow over 2,000 visitors to take turns peering through its 20cm telescope. The telescope provides a 180-factor enlargement of Mars, which is the largest image that the public, outside academic institutions, will be able to
witness.
PHOTO: AGENCIES
On Wednesday night, Mars speeded to within 55.6km million of Earth, which was close enough for people to distinguish basic features of the planet's surface using commercial telescopes. The Hubble Space Telescope, meanwhile, has been sending back a steady stream of some of clearest and most detailed photos of the planet ever seen.
Part of the excitement surrounding the Mars fly-by also has to do with the fact that four spacecraft are currently on their way toward the planet on research missions. NASA has dispatched two probes, one of which is scheduled to land in 157 days, while the Japanese and European space programs are likewise involved in research expeditions.
All the research being conducted seeks to answer that one enduring question about the Red Planet: is there life on Mars? Researchers are already quite certain that there are no little green men planning an invasion of Earth from Mars, but there is the faint hope that some less threatening life form exists or existed there.
PHOTO: AGENCIES
For people hoping for an even better view than they get from Ta-an Park or Yangminshan, the Astronomical Museum will keep its doors open until 9pm today for the last chance in our lifetimes to observe the Red Planet through its telescope.
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