4 minute read
MV Astronomy Club
mars returns by carol higgins
October brings jack-o-lanterns and beautiful autumn leaves that decorate the Mohawk Valley with vibrant shades of yellow, orange, red, and green. This year, we can also look forward to welcoming the return of one of our nearby celestial neighbors to our night sky – planet Mars is back!
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Mars will rise in the eastern sky after sunset and move toward the west during the night. Its striking orange-red color easily distinguishes it from stars and other objects. Mars is at its brightest on October 8, when Earth and Mars are “only” 38.5 million apart due to the elliptical orbits of the two planets (250 million miles away at its furthest point). In fact, all month it shinesbrighterthanJupiter.Thenexttime Mars is this close is September 2035. There are significant differences between Earth and Mars. The Red Planet is 4,220 miles indiameter, while Earthis almost twice its size at 7,926 miles across. There are 687 days in a Martian year, and 24 hours and 37 minutes in a day. The planet has two small and heavily cratered moons named Phobos and Deimos. OblongshapedPhobos (17 miles longby14 miles wide) is often compared to a potato and zooms around Mars three times every day at only 3,700 miles above the surface. Smaller Deimos is only 9 by 7 miles and takes 30 hours for one orbital trip.
Mars is a rocky planet with a cratered surface coveredwith fine dustcontaining iron minerals that have rusted, giving Mars its famous red color. It has polar ice caps,
dunes, mountains and valleys, large dry lake beds, and rocks and minerals that provide evidence of a watery past. It is home to the largest extinct volcano and the largest canyon in the Solar System. The Olympus Mons volcano is almost 400 miles wide and 16 miles high. The four-mile deep Valles Marineris canyon is over Hanny’s Voorwerp. Image Credit: NASA, ESA, W. Keel, Galaxy Zoo Team 2,500 miles long and could reach from coastto coastinthe United Mars, image by Viking Orbiter States. Credit: NASA/JPL/USGS Humanvisitorswilldefinitely need a spacesuit. Earth’s atmosphere contains 78 percent nitroMars missions. Two orbiting spacecraft gen and 21 percent oxygen plus a few carry onboard instruments and cameras to other gases, while the Martian atmosphere monitor climate and terrain. The InSight hasawhopping96percentcarbondioxide lander studies the planet’s interior, seismic and small quantities of argon, nitrogen, events, and weather including temperaoxygen,andothergases. ture and wind, while the Curiosity rover
That thin atmosphere results in temexplores Mount Sharp in Gale Crater. peratures ranging from 70 degrees to Launched in July, the Perseverance rover minus 225 degrees Fahrenheit and gives will land in February 2021. the planet four seasons, clouds, dust dev ThankstotheseNASAroboticexplorils, andwinds. Thewinds canliftthefine ers and several spacecraft sent by other surface materials and create dust storms international space agencies, we have – some that encircle the planet for weeks learned about current water ice at the poles as we witnessed in 2018 when the solar and below the surface, the planet’s evolupanels that powered NASA’s Opportunity tion, and continue to gather data to help rover were covered with dust. When the us prepare for future human missions to storm was over the rover was unable to Mars. So take a few moments to enjoy incharge its batteries, ending its almost 15- teresting Mars this month; you can see the year extremely successful mission. Not southern polar ice cap with a telescope! badforaroverthatwasexpectedtooperWishing you clear skies and good ate for 90 days! health! •
NASA currently has several active
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Mohawk Valley Pumpkin Pursuit
Game #4
2-6 players. Needed: 1 die and any game pieces (or coins)
-Place all players game pieces in Start circle. Each player rolls the
die. -Player with the highest number goes first. Play proceeds clockwise to left.
-You must land on EACH Pumpkin Stop by
EXACT number roll of die. The player who reaches the orange Finish pumpkin first wins. You must roll an exact number to move your piece into the Finish pumpkin.
If you land on a green square, follow the arrow.
If you land on a blue
square, roll the die and follow the “Roll the die” instructions for the corresponding number.
If you land on the same square as another player, send them BACK to the nearest orange square. If there is no orange square between player and Start, send to Start
You can play the game with the magazine open or you remove it by carefully prying up the staples and lifting out the game board, then press staples back down again.
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