Pueblo -- An opportunity to see Colorado State University- Pueblo's new observatory at the Pueblo Greenway and Nature Center will be offered when Mars makes its closest approach to Earth in recorded history.

To mark the event, CSU-Pueblo Physics Professor Bill Brown has scheduled a public viewing of Mars on Wednesday, August 27, beginning at 8:30 p.m. at the Southern Colorado Observatory, which was dedicated last fall. Astronomers say Mars has not been this close to Earth for 59,620 years, and will not be this close again until 2287, so this is a perfect chance to see the red planet at its closest in a long time.

Mars is easy to spot this month; rising in the east around nightfall and reaching its highest point in the sky at 1:17 a.m. on August 27. Since there is a new moon that night, Mars will easily be the brightest object in the night sky. The view from the observatory will be memorable, and Brown will answer questions about Mars or about Astronomy in general. To get to the observatory, take 11th street West off Pueblo Boulevard and park in the Greenway and Nature center parking lot.

For more information about this once in a lifetime event, contact Brown at 549-2683 or bill.brown@colostate-pueblo.edu.

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