Mars brightens as it nears Earth

Mars, which has been regaling earthlings over the past nights with its brilliant glow highly visible to the naked eye, is yet to make its greatest performance. On June 22, the "Red Planet" will come closest to Earth.

Tonight, Mars will come out in the night sky at 7:05, shining at magnitude negative 2.10 in the east-southeastern hemisphere. It will set at 6:05 tomorrow morning.

"It will be nearest to Earth on June 22 and will have a brilliancy of magnitude negative 2.3," astronomer Elmor Escosia of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) told The STAR.

Escosia said by then, Mars would be in direct opposition to Earth. The interplanetary configuration would be Sun, Earth and Mars. Mercury will be somewhere in its own orbit.

As in previous nights, the phenomenon can be spotted near the constellation Scorpio that also includes another galaxy visible to the naked eye as a star with reddish-yellowish hue.

At 11 p.m. Mars will be closest to Scorpio’s tail while the body would appear poised to strike at a "celestial victim."

Meanwhile, a new, powerful telescope is being installed at the PAGASA Astronomical Observatory at the University of the Philippines campus in Diliman, Quezon City.

The binocular has a 45-centimeter Cassegrain telescope with a computer-controlled system, an electronic photometer, CCD attachments with standard accessories and spectograph.

The device, donated by the Japanese government through its Cultural Grand Aid Program, will be operational on the third week of this month and will enhance the capability of the Observatory to monitor and study astronomical objects.

Its maximum magnification will be 300, with the available eyepieces three times more powerful than the existing 30 cm reflecting telescope.