The Muncie Astronomy Club is giving the community a chance to get the closest look at the Red Planet they may ever have from Earth.
In an effort to raise awareness about recent space programs, the Muncie Astronomy Club hosted a Mars observation program on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Cooper Science Building.
"We wanted to do an event for the community," said MAC member Peggy Motes.
The program, "Mars Mania," includes an hour-long presentation about the history, mythology and past research of Mars, and a viewing of the planet. Right now, Mars is only 34.6 million miles from Earth, its closest distance in an estimated 60,000 years.
"It was amazing," junior Mat Johnson said after he saw Mars through a telescope in the observatory of the Cooper Science Complex.
The program is in conjunction with an international "Night of 2003 Telescopes" created by the Planetary Society in hopes to create an interest in space from the general public.
Audience members said the show was worth viewing.
"It showed a lot of cool pictures of Mars," high school senior Doug Pearcy said.
NASA launched two Mars Exploration Rovers in January in preparation for the close range of the planets. They held a contest for young students to name the two rovers. The winner, a 10-year-old Russian-American girl living in Arizona, named them "Spirit" and "Opportunity" for the "spirit of the space exploration programs" and the "opportunity this gives mankind."
A final presentation of the Mars observation program will take place Thursday at 9 p.m. Motes suggested arriving around 8:15 p.m. since the planetarium is usually filled by 8:30 p.m.
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