In February 2020 I went to New Zealand to visit my daughter Alice - I'm sure I must have mentioned this!! One of our excursions while on a mini road trip from Wellington on the North Island to Queenstown on the South Island, was to Lake Tekapo. We stayed in a lovely hostel and on our first night we went star gazing.
Lake Tekapo - or part of it anyway!
I have been reminded of this trip in the last couple of weeks as Mars is very bright in our view of the Northern Hemisphere night sky. When I am walking the dog last thing at night, I walk down Whiteways and there slightly to the left but straight ahead is the brilliant Mars. What a treat on a clear night.
Star gazing in the Southern Hemisphere was pretty awesome. There were just eight in our group. We were given long quilted coats to wear as it was the middle of the night and a little cool. Our guide was a very enthusiastic young man whose knowledge of the night sky and the stars and planets we would look at through the telescope was astounding.
The picture below is of me and Alice on the top of the hill by the telescope with the central section of the Milky Way behind us.
So here are some facts about Mars as it is so visible at the moment.
The earliest record we have of the planet Mars is from the Ancient Egyptians - 2nd Millenium BC but was named after the Roman god of war. Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and is the second smallest planet in the solar system. Mars is also often described as the “Red Planet” due to its reddish appearance. It is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere composed mostly of carbon dioxide. The planet has the largest mountain and the longest dust storms in the solar system.
And here's a lovely song to go with this piece. Mary Chapin Carpenter wrote and sings here the song, 'When Halley Came to Jackson'. Sorry but you will have to highlight the link and click on it to take you to youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Om3j8VP1oCI
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