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CNN Live Sunday

The Next Time Mars Will Be This Close People Will Be Living On It

Aired August 24, 2003 - 16:41   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN ANCHOR: Well anyone watching the night sky lately knows the Earth is getting ready for a little close encounter with Mars. This keyhole animation that we're about to show you, shows the details of the red planet, details that even amateur astronomers should be able to see this week as Mars passes close to the Earth.
Andrew Chaiken is a space journalist who is watching the spectacular show from Boston. He joins us now from Boston, with more on this. Andrew thanks for being with us today.

ANDREW CHAIKIN, SPACE JOURNALIST: Thanks, Renay, I'm glad to be here.

SAN MIGUEL: All I've heard in the run up to this light show we're going to see from Mars is that you don't even need a telescope that the naked eye can provide enough thrills for you here. Is that right?

CHAIKIN: Absolutely. You can just go out any night and look in the Southeast and you'll see Mars as a very bright, steady, starlike light, brighter than any star actually, with a king of pale golden light. And this is the planet that has captured our imagination for more than a hundred years, or -- going back to ancient times when people thought it was a god. Now we know it's just a fascinating neighboring world.

SAN MIGUEL: And I guess the reason for that is, is because people thought there was life on there. Thats' even if you didn't read H.G. Wells' book "War of the Worlds". The tantilizing possibility that there was water there, that maybe it sustained some kind of life, that's been it?

CHAIKIN: That's definitly in it. And that's at the top of the list. I mean, in terms of great discoveries, that would be the greatest. But I think Mars is fascinating even without that. It's just a sister world, or brother world I guess, with it's own geologic wonders, which we've been exploring, not only with telescopes, but with spacecraft, for the last 40 years. And you can go on the Web and see fantastic images of Mars from space craft.

Now, we have an opportunity to experience Mars ourselves by going out and looking at it with the naked eye, or even if you have a small telescope, you can see the orange disc of Mars, the bright white polar cap at one side of it, and then these dusky, dark markings, that are a sort of gray set against the sort of salmon-colored or peach-colored desert regions of the planet. SAN MIGUEL: We have, actually, some of the photos that you've taken of Mars that we're seeing right now while we're talking here. This is already -- it's already been pretty bright in the southeast sky for a couple of weeks. What is the peak time here, and what do people need to look in the southeast sky?

CHAIKIN: Well, you need to look in the southeast portion of the sky in the evening. Anytime between now and, say, the beginning of October, really. The peak moment -- and by the way, these are pictures that I took when Mars passed close to the moon as seen from Florida in July. But the peak time, the closest approach of Mars to the Earth, is the 27, this coming Wednesday morning. Right? Wednesday is the 27.

SAN MIGUEL: That's it.

CHAIKIN: At 5:51 a.m. It will already be light on the east coast. But just go out that evening, anytime around then. You're going to see Mars very bright, very close, and in fact closer than it's been to Earth in 60,000 years. And that is a mind bogler right there.

SAN MIGUEL: It's going to be sometime in the 23rd century before we get another shot at this. So people...

CHAIKIN: Actually, 2287. August 28 of 2287 is the next time it will be this close.

SAN MIGUEL: All right. So get out and do this now.

CHAIKIN: And can I just say that if you want to see those pictures in more detail you can go to my Web site, andrewchaikin.com.

SAN MIGUEL: I was going to ask you where we need to go on the Internet to get more details about this. And also, astronomy clubs, if you don't have a telescope, if you want to know more about this there's astronomy clubs around the country that should have their Web sites on, should be available, right?

CHAIKIN: Absolutely. You can go on Google and just click on Mars and Mars amateur astronomy, go to skyandtelescope.com, which is my old outfit with "Sky and Telescope" magazine. Space.com is another. Go to the planetary photo journal, which is run by NASA's JPL. All of the space probe images of Mars are there.

And it's a fantastic time to be alive. And I think Mars is a mirror that reflects back to us our own burning curiosity and our ingenuity at being able to explore the universe.

SAN MIGUEL: And I can imagine that the people you really want to go out and take a look at Mars are the kids in this country.

CHAIKIN: Absolutely. And in fact, I'll be going around to schools this fall and going out with kids and taking pictures like this. And absolutely. Parents, take your kids out, show them Mars. It's a little bit past some of their bedtimes, maybe, but it's worth it. And say to them, you know, the next time Mars is this close there will be people living on Mars.

SAN MIGUEL: Okay. We're going to hold you to that. If we're still around, that is. Andrew Chaikin, space journalist thanks so much for your time.

CHAIKIN: Thank you, Renay. I enjoyed it.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





Living On It>


Aired August 24, 2003 - 16:41   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN ANCHOR: Well anyone watching the night sky lately knows the Earth is getting ready for a little close encounter with Mars. This keyhole animation that we're about to show you, shows the details of the red planet, details that even amateur astronomers should be able to see this week as Mars passes close to the Earth.
Andrew Chaiken is a space journalist who is watching the spectacular show from Boston. He joins us now from Boston, with more on this. Andrew thanks for being with us today.

ANDREW CHAIKIN, SPACE JOURNALIST: Thanks, Renay, I'm glad to be here.

SAN MIGUEL: All I've heard in the run up to this light show we're going to see from Mars is that you don't even need a telescope that the naked eye can provide enough thrills for you here. Is that right?

CHAIKIN: Absolutely. You can just go out any night and look in the Southeast and you'll see Mars as a very bright, steady, starlike light, brighter than any star actually, with a king of pale golden light. And this is the planet that has captured our imagination for more than a hundred years, or -- going back to ancient times when people thought it was a god. Now we know it's just a fascinating neighboring world.

SAN MIGUEL: And I guess the reason for that is, is because people thought there was life on there. Thats' even if you didn't read H.G. Wells' book "War of the Worlds". The tantilizing possibility that there was water there, that maybe it sustained some kind of life, that's been it?

CHAIKIN: That's definitly in it. And that's at the top of the list. I mean, in terms of great discoveries, that would be the greatest. But I think Mars is fascinating even without that. It's just a sister world, or brother world I guess, with it's own geologic wonders, which we've been exploring, not only with telescopes, but with spacecraft, for the last 40 years. And you can go on the Web and see fantastic images of Mars from space craft.

Now, we have an opportunity to experience Mars ourselves by going out and looking at it with the naked eye, or even if you have a small telescope, you can see the orange disc of Mars, the bright white polar cap at one side of it, and then these dusky, dark markings, that are a sort of gray set against the sort of salmon-colored or peach-colored desert regions of the planet. SAN MIGUEL: We have, actually, some of the photos that you've taken of Mars that we're seeing right now while we're talking here. This is already -- it's already been pretty bright in the southeast sky for a couple of weeks. What is the peak time here, and what do people need to look in the southeast sky?

CHAIKIN: Well, you need to look in the southeast portion of the sky in the evening. Anytime between now and, say, the beginning of October, really. The peak moment -- and by the way, these are pictures that I took when Mars passed close to the moon as seen from Florida in July. But the peak time, the closest approach of Mars to the Earth, is the 27, this coming Wednesday morning. Right? Wednesday is the 27.

SAN MIGUEL: That's it.

CHAIKIN: At 5:51 a.m. It will already be light on the east coast. But just go out that evening, anytime around then. You're going to see Mars very bright, very close, and in fact closer than it's been to Earth in 60,000 years. And that is a mind bogler right there.

SAN MIGUEL: It's going to be sometime in the 23rd century before we get another shot at this. So people...

CHAIKIN: Actually, 2287. August 28 of 2287 is the next time it will be this close.

SAN MIGUEL: All right. So get out and do this now.

CHAIKIN: And can I just say that if you want to see those pictures in more detail you can go to my Web site, andrewchaikin.com.

SAN MIGUEL: I was going to ask you where we need to go on the Internet to get more details about this. And also, astronomy clubs, if you don't have a telescope, if you want to know more about this there's astronomy clubs around the country that should have their Web sites on, should be available, right?

CHAIKIN: Absolutely. You can go on Google and just click on Mars and Mars amateur astronomy, go to skyandtelescope.com, which is my old outfit with "Sky and Telescope" magazine. Space.com is another. Go to the planetary photo journal, which is run by NASA's JPL. All of the space probe images of Mars are there.

And it's a fantastic time to be alive. And I think Mars is a mirror that reflects back to us our own burning curiosity and our ingenuity at being able to explore the universe.

SAN MIGUEL: And I can imagine that the people you really want to go out and take a look at Mars are the kids in this country.

CHAIKIN: Absolutely. And in fact, I'll be going around to schools this fall and going out with kids and taking pictures like this. And absolutely. Parents, take your kids out, show them Mars. It's a little bit past some of their bedtimes, maybe, but it's worth it. And say to them, you know, the next time Mars is this close there will be people living on Mars.

SAN MIGUEL: Okay. We're going to hold you to that. If we're still around, that is. Andrew Chaikin, space journalist thanks so much for your time.

CHAIKIN: Thank you, Renay. I enjoyed it.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





Living On It>