UWG News Item
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View Mars and Venus in the autumn skies
October 21, 2005
CARROLLTON, GA - The West Georgia Observatory at the University of West Georgia will open additional days in October and November for a public viewing of Mars and Venus. Both planets are at their brightest in the autumn sky.
The special viewing of Mars and Venus is scheduled at the observatory 8:30-9:45 p.m., Oct. 24-27, and 7-8:30 p.m., Nov. 1-3. Visits to the observatory are free and open to the public.
Dr. Bob Powell, director of the observatory and chair of the Department of Physics, said Earth and Mars will reach their closest encounters of the year in October and November. Mars will appear as a brilliant orange star in the eastern sky.
Venus, the second planet from the sun and our closest planetary neighbor, will also make an appearance as a radiant object in the western sky. The dazzling planet outshines all the other stars and planets.
For much of the first half of the year Venus disappears as it passes behind the Sun. It eventually can be seen in early June as a brilliant evening star in the western horizon at sunset. Venus gradually travels across the summer sky but remains low. It is most visible in early November.
The observatory features a Cassegrain reflecting telescope with a mirror 14 inches in diameter. Hundreds of people visit the observatory each year to view the night sky.
For more information, contact the Department of Physics at 678-839-4087.
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