Mars won't be spotted thru TIM

Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

It's not going to reoccur for another 13 years at least, but if you're hoping to catch a glimpse of the planet Mars as it passes closest to Earth from the Jakarta Planetarium at Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) in Central Jakarta this weekend, think again.

Due to technical repairs on its projectors, the Jakarta Planetarium has been closed to the public this past week, and it looks like it will be closed all through the Idul Fitri holiday.

"The projector broke down last Sunday, so it's been a week already. And on Tuesday we begin the Idul Fitri holiday, so we'll also be closed until Nov. 8," a security guard at the Planetarium's office told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

With the Bosscha Observatory in Lembang, West Java, also closed for the Idul Fitri holiday, amateur astronomers and enthusiasts would have to settle for their backyard telescopes to see Mars.

Although not as record breaking as the red planet's Aug. 28, 2003 approach to Earth -- when it hovered from "only" 56 million kilometers away, closest to Earth than anytime since 60,000 years ago -- more people will be able to catch a glimpse because it will glow above the horizon.

Mars's orbit brought this fourth planet from the sun closest to the Earth on Sunday at about 69.4 million kilometers away, assistant researcher at the Bosscha Observatory, Gabriel Iwan Prasetiono, said.

And on Nov. 7 the planet's orbit will bring it in a straight line with the sun and Earth. The two planets, normally separated by about 224 million kilometers, will not be this close again until 2018.

"During this time, Mars is at it's largest and can be seen most clearly from Earth," Iwan said.

The weather, however, may not be favorable for stargazing, and Iwan said that unless enthusiasts use a radio telescope, they would not be able to see the planet during cloudy weather.

"Because optical telescopes would not be able to penetrate the clouds," he said.