Mars To Appear Exceptionally Bright This Weekend
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Keep your eyes on the sky this weekend for two big celestial events. Astronomers and star-gazers are in for something cool involving Mars and the Moon.
Mars shines in the spotlight this week as NASA released a stunning new Hubble Space Telescope image of the red planet as it was 50 million miles away from Earth.
It shows the rusty landscape, polar ice caps and even some clouds.
Here on Earth, Mars will appear its brightest in two years. On Sunday, Mars will reach what they call "opposition."
Ralph Crewe of the Carnegie Science Center says, "It's directly opposite from the sun in the sky. It's in the opposite piece of sky. So a good way to remember that is as the sun goes down, immediately as it goes down, Mars is coming up."
The center has powerful telescopes that can zoom in on Mars. When it's in opposition, it's even closer to Earth, making it appear brighter.
"If you ever want to observe Mars through a telescope, this is the time of year to do it," says Crewe. "If you have a really good scope and good conditions, you may even be able to see things like polar ice caps and different colors on the planet."
The brightness will last a few weeks as Mars get closer to Earth than it's been in a decade. To catch a glimpse, look southeast near the Moon.
Speaking of the Moon, it'll be full, making it an unusual kind of "Blue Moon."
Crewe says, "There are four full moons in the spring of 2016. The third one is this Saturday and that will be the third full moon of four, which makes it a 'Blue Moon.' But it won't actually look blue, it'll look just like it normally does."
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As for viewing weather, clouds may get in the way Saturday night but skies should start to clear by later Sunday evening.
Even if clouds do block our view this weekend, Mars will remain extra bright for several weeks giving us special stargazing opportunities through the end of spring.
Carnegie Science Center will host a special SkyWatch May 28 if you'd like to view Mars in opposition through a telescope.