Steven Longmore explaining the features of Mars.

From the Roman God of War to the home of little green men, Mars has inspired human civilisation for millennia. On the 27th of August, Mars once again caught the public’s imagination as it came its closest to Earth in almost 60,000 years. Sydney-siders had a perfect view as, over a couple of weeks, the Red Planet appeared to grow in size to dominate the Eastern evening sky. In response to the intense media coverage and public interest, the astronomy department held a series of Mars viewing nights, open to both members of faculty and the public. The first three talks were quickly booked out and another two evenings were arranged to cope with the demand.

Each night began with an introductory talk outlining the Red Planet’s life-story; from the creation of the solar-system to the extraordinarily Earth-like features of the planet we see today such as its atmosphere, clouds, seasonal weather patterns, volcanoes and canyons. The following viewing session at the UNSW Observatory was a great way to get a real close up view through a telescope and some were lucky enough to see the frozen carbon dioxide polar icecaps (but no little green men!) Keep an eye out for the probes that have now landed on Mars, and are searching for signs of past life. We may soon be able to answer the question, “Has life ever existed on Mars?”….

Steven Longmore