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New Planetarium Show Opens for Mars Month Celebration at The Bishop

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September 16 – Bradenton: Mars is taking center stage at The Bishop Museum of Science and Naturein September and October as the Red Planet presents the best opportunity for viewing in nearly two decades.
During “Mars Month” — which includes special appearances by Jupiter and Saturn — we’ve planned programs that explore everything from Mars basics, to myths about Mars, and even opportunities for in-person viewing.
Now, we’re adding a new Planetarium show to our Mars-centric lineup focused on the only other planet in our solar system with a solid surface, polar ice caps, an atmosphere, and weather! 
During “Mars Revealed,” guests will “fly” from Earth to the Martian surface where they’ll discover some of the geographical features that could indicate whether life ever existed on the Red Planet. This show is a 10-minute narrated tour of the most Earth-like planet, including what will be visible when Mars is at opposition, making it especially large and bright!
“Mars Revealed” starts Friday, Sept. 18 and will show at:
10:30 and 11 a.m. and noon Wednesday through Saturday12:30, 1 and 2 p.m. every Sunday
“Mars has fascinated people for centuries,” said Planetarium Manager Howard Hochhalter. “We connect with it because it reminds us of our home, Earth, sharing similar features, including water, an atmosphere that gives it blue skies and weather, and polar ice caps. It’s likely to be the first planet humans will land on. ‘Mars Revealed’ gives our guests a close-up look at these tantalizing features.”
The Planetarium is also still showing “Flight through Our Solar System,” a 10-minute narrated tour that begins at the sun then travels through our solar system past Pluto and the other outer planets, until we arrive at the icy outer reaches of the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud, located on the outer fringe of our solar system. Showtimes are:
12:30, 2, and 2:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday 2:30, 3:30, and 4 p.m. Sunday 
Be sure to check out our full schedule of Mars-related programming and don’t forget to mark your calendars for the Mars perigee and opposition.
Opposition is when a body in our solar system (a planet or the moon) is on the opposite side of the sun from the Earth, so that the body is fully luminated by the sun and brighter than when it’s in any other position. Mars will be at opposition on Oct. 13.
Perigee is when a planet is at its closest approach to Earth. Mars’ average distance from Earth is 141.3 million miles; on Oct.6, it will be a mere 38.1 million miles away. In terms of light physics, closer means brighter. 
The combination of opposition and near-perigee means that Mars will be shining at a magnitude of -2.6. Remember, the lower the magnitude, the brighter the object; Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, shines at a magnitude of -1.46.

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