Star gazers, it's full Mars tonight!

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Star gazers, try your luck tonight. If you happen to be outdoors, look up to the eastern sky and -- if it is not cloudy or rainy -- you just might spot a bright red shining star that does not flicker. There you go, it is the red planet in a full circle.

Mars, which is often associated with masculine energy and the god of war, can be viewed as a full circle as it is almost aligned with the Earth, giving people an ideal view of the planet.

"Mars can rarely be seen in a full circle. It has a monthly cycle that aligns with the earth and this month it will rise on Saturday night. We call it full Mars, as in a full Moon," said Jakarta Amateur Astronomer Association head Djuhana Wijayakusuma.

However, Djuhana explained that the planet would not be too obvious as it will only be 1/140 of the size of the Moon as seen from Earth.

Djuhana added that the planet was going to be in its transition phase, moving from the constellation of Pisces to Taurus.

"The easiest way to recognize the planet is to face north and look up around 30 degrees to the right."

"People interested in viewing the red planet with the naked eye can check out the sky at around 11 p.m. on Saturday," he said, adding that the amateur astronomers were planning to observe the planet on their own as the city's planetarium would not be open.

However, according to Titi Rayasti, an officer from the Planetarium at Taman Ismail Marzuki, Central Jakarta, it would schedule several observations in September and October.

Mars, one of the Earth's closest neighbors, will be around 69.4 million kilometers away at the end of October, while tonight it rotates at a distance of around 103 million kilometers from Earth.

The days between July and September are the best days to observe the planet with the naked eye as both planets are in their yearly cycle when they approach each other.

On Aug. 27, 2003, separated by only around 55.7 million kilometers, the red planet was the closest it has been to earth in the last 60,000 years. It was probably the best time for Martians to attack the earth, a foreign daily jokingly said.

On that day people crowded the Taman Ismail Marzuki Planetarium and Boscha Observatory in Lembang, Bandung, to witness the rare phenomenon.

The occasion is special as both planets have an elliptical orbit that rarely meets.

Those who miss this remarkable natural phenomenon will have to wait until the planet approaches the Earth again on Aug. 28 -- 285 years from now. (003)