By KATIE MENZER / The Dallas Morning News
DENTON, Texas - You might want to take a second look at any space creatures asking for candy on your doorstep this Halloween.
Mars will be closer to Earth this weekend than it will be again for 13 years, making this an ideal time for any Martians worried about high fuel costs to head our way.
"It's an easier commute," said John Callas, a physicist and NASA's deputy project manager for the Mars Exploration Rover project.
Although scientists aren't really worried about a space invasion, they agree now is a perfect time to introduce your candy-crunching, costumed kids to the cosmos. Officials at the University of North Texas Observatory are hosting a telescope viewing and Halloween party Saturday night to celebrate Mars' close encounter with Earth.
Tonight and early Sunday, Mars will be 43 million miles from Earth. Although the red planet made headlines in 2003 when it came within 35 million miles of Earth – the closest it had been in 60,000 years – UNT officials said stargazers might get a better view of the planet now because it will be higher in the sky.
Mars is visible at sunset and should be above your head around 10 p.m.
"It's not exactly red," said Ron DiIulio, the university's planetarium and astronomy program director. "It's more of a light orange."
It takes 26 months for Mars to orbit the sun, compared with Earth's 12-month cycle. That means Mars and Earth meet up only once every couple of years. And since the two planets have different-shaped orbits, the distance between them when they align is not always the same.
If Earthlings ever decide to relocate, Mars might be our safest bet since it has an environment not too dissimilar from our own. It's got seasons, gravity and temperatures closest to Earth's. And water vapor has been detected in its atmosphere.
"If we want to go anywhere, Mars will be the place to go," said Zdzislaw Musielak, a physics professor at the University of Texas at Arlington.
Moving to Mars will be just one of the subjects discussed at UNT's "Mars Mania" party, which officials promise will be out of this world with goodie bags for the first 250 visitors and a children's Halloween contest. There will be telescopes, a model of the Mars Rover and meteorites given away as door prizes.
"We'll stay up until everyone is Marsed out," said Mr. DiIulio, a solar system ambassador for NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
AP
Mars should be straight overhead at 10 p.m. the weekend.
