Two glittering eyes looked down at the NIU campus from the eastern sky early this morning.

One of those eyes was Mars and the other was the star Aldebaran. The display appeared at 3 a.m. when the planet and star aligned.

Mars is visible every day, though sometimes only during the daytime and not by the unaided eye, said astronomy and physics professor David Hedin.

“Right before dawn [Mars was] very bright and almost directly overhead,” Hedin said.

If you happened to miss the sight, do not despair. Mars will continue to be visible in the upcoming weeks.

“[Today, Mars and Earth] will be as close as they have been for a long time,” Hedin said. “But it isn’t that much closer than what happens every two years or so.”

Mars made its closest encounter with earth in 60,000 years on this day in 2003. Since that astronomical event, an e-mail hoax has circulated the Internet that has received much media attention.

A section on NASA’s Web site is even devoted to refuting the rumor. The e-mail, which circulates each year in August, claims Mars will appear as large as our Moon.

The e-mail was simply misquoted and misunderstood, said Suzanne Willis, graduate professor of astronomy and physics.

“What really was said was that Mars viewed through a 75x telescope would be as big as the moon viewed with the naked eye — not the same thing at all,” Willis said.

When viewing Mars, there are some factors that can affect its visibility.

“The biggest difference, because Mars is not always visible in the sky, will be if it is clear and dry and no football lights [are on],” said astronomy instructor Pati Sievert.

“If you’re just looking with your bare eyes or with a binocular, Mars will be brighter
than the stars with a reddish tint.”

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