MY STARS! YOU CAN SEE MARS.

Byline: Helen Gao Staff Writer

A bright orangish glow appearing late at night in the southern sky - visible to the naked eye even in well-lit urban areas - is enthralling stargazers everywhere.

Mars and Earth are having their closest encounter in 60,000 years, offering an up-close, once-in-a-lifetime view of the Red Planet.

Separated at times by a distance as great as 65 million miles, the two planets are now moving within 34 million miles of each other, enabling even those with a low-grade telescope to get an exceptional look at the surface of Mars.

As a result, Mars mania is sweeping the astronomy community, with many amateurs staying up till dawn in back yards and on mountaintops. Across the Southland, astronomy clubs, observatories and planetariums have scheduled exhibits, lectures and even ``Mars Star Parties.''

``It's a real big deal,'' said Terry Pedroza, president of the Antelope Valley Astronomy Club, who has been studying the Red Planet for the past six weeks. ``It won't be this close again for another 284 years.''

``It's the brightest object in the morning sky,'' he said. ``You can't miss it.''

Through a telescope at his Lancaster home, Pedroza said he's been able to see major features of Mars, such as Olympus Mons - a volcano measuring 17 miles tall and 320 miles wide, considered the largest in our solar system.

``In a word,'' he said, ``it's just fantastic.''

At the height of the Earth-Mars encounter at 2:51 a.m. Aug. 27, the two planets will orbit within 34,646,418 miles of each other, an event not seen since 57,617 B.C. and which won't occur again until 2287.

While Mars can be spotted at other times of the year and does come close to Earth every 26 months, with even closer approaches every 15 to 17 years, the Red Planet has not been this close in recorded history.

The planetary rendezvous coincides with several exploration missions to Mars launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the European Space Agency and Japan. The closer distance between Earth and Mars has cut travel time from nine months or more to just six months.

Launched in June and July, NASA's two land rovers, named Spirit and Opportunity, are due on Mars in January. Their mission is to search for evidence of water and life by conducting mineral and geological analysis at two equatorial sites.

``The whole effort in trying to understand Mars and the possibility of life is to go where the water was,'' said astronomer Stephen Edberg of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, which built the rovers.

``So these rovers are going there to explore and search out and see in close-up detail what they can see,'' he said.

Unlike the 1997 Sojourner - the first Mars land rover - Spirit and Opportunity are bigger and better-equipped. Whereas Sojourner relied on a base station to function, the new rovers are self-sufficient. They can travel farther to more places and transmit data directly back to Earth.

As Edberg waits for the rovers to land on Mars, he's also been busy peering through his telescope, relishing the rare opportunity to see Mars' key features so clearly.

``The south polar cap has been very distinct on Mars,'' he said. ``There is what is called the north polar hood, which is kind of a haze of cloud over the north pole. That's been visible as well. Dark markings are also present.

``It's putting on a good show already.''

David Falk, astronomy instructor and planetarium director at Los Angeles Valley College in Valley Glen, is thrilled to see the south polar cap in great detail.

``It's very noticeable,'' Falk said. ``It's fairly large. It's not like a pinpoint. It's covering a significant portion of Mars' south pole. It's like looking at a map of Earth and seeing Antarctica.''

These spectacular views of Mars could be completely obscured in the event of a huge dust storm engulfing the Red Planet - a distinct possibility as it also orbits closer to the sun. Atmospheric changes caused by rising temperature can whip up fierce storms that can last months at a time.

``We are expecting and dreading a global dust storm any time,'' said John Mosley, program supervisor for the Griffith Observatory. ``(The storms) can make the planet completely dust-covered and you can't see anything on it.''

Even in the event of such a storm, Mosley said, viewers would still be able to see the orangish ``morning star,'' just not the details on its surface.

Last Saturday, several hundred people flocked to the Griffith Observatory Satellite's ``Mars Star Party.''

``It's big and bright. Without a telescope, you can see Mars shining brightest in the nighttime sky other than the moon,'' Mosley said.

Helen Gao, [phone]

helen.gao(at)dailynews.com

TIPS FOR VIEWING MARS

Mars is located just above the horizon in the southeast sky. Midnight is a good time to see the Red Planet. It's best if viewers wait until two hours after Mars has risen or is 20 degrees above the horizon, in order to get a good look at its surface. A guide to Mars viewing is available at the Griffith Observatory Web site, www.griffithobservatory.org/mars2003.html.

Here are just some of the area events inspired by the closest encounter between Earth and the Red Planet in 60,000 years:

--The Griffith Observatory Satellite, 5333 Zoo Drive, will offer free ``Mars Star Parties,'' 11 p.m. Saturdays through August. A special viewing will be held Aug. 26 on the lawn of the Autry Museum of Western Heritage, 4700 Western Heritage Drive. Visit www.griffithobservatory.org/mars2003.html.

--The Antelope Valley Astronomy Club will host a beginning astronomy presentation at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 16 at the Prime Desert Woodlands, Avenue K-8 and 35th Street West in Lancaster. Visit www.avac.av.org.

--Valley College, 5800 Fulton Ave., Valley Village, will present ``Mars Returns'' at 8 p.m. Sept. 19. Admission is $3.50. Call [phone], press option 2.

CAPTION(S):

2 boxes, drawing

Drawing/Box:

(1 -- color) CELESTIAL ENCOUNTER

SOURCES: Sky & Telescope; The Planetary Society

Warren Huskey/Staff Artist

Box:

(2) TIPS FOR VIEWING MARS (see text)