See the purple haze on mars tonight

Skygazers can feast on the bright red planet mars for a week from midnight tonight as the planet gets closer to the earth.

Mars, which is already bright, will be more brighter on the eastern sky -- the brightest light in the midnight sky other than moon, between Wednesday and the end of October, due to its proximity to earth.

Earth and mars have been converging for months and on October 30 at 0319 GMT, the two worlds will be just 69 million kilometers apart -- the closest approach of mars and earth for the next 13 years, the Akash Ganga Astronomy Centre near Mumbai said.

In 2003, the last time earth and mars converged, mars was bright, but it was also low, never climbing more than about 34 degrees above the horizon as seen from North America and Europe. In 2005, on the other hand, mars is going be much higher in the sky -- about 66 degrees.

This is good news for people with backyard telescopes, because planets high in the sky look crisp and clear. Lower down, near the horizon where the air is thick, they become murky and indistinct. Mars in 2005 is nicely placed for detailed, high-magnification viewing, the centre located at Badlapur, near here, said.

Already backyard astronomers are seeing some extraordinary things like the 'purple haze.' Winter is beginning at the Martian north pole, and icy-blue clouds are gathering there. The vast cloud bank is easily seen through 10-inch and larger telescopes, purple enough to remind some observers of Jimi Hendrix, AGCA said.

The view will only improve as October 30 approaches, AGCA pointed out.

Taking advantage of the close encounter, NASA is sending a robot-ship to Mars.

Named 'Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter', it left earth in August carrying, among other things, the biggest camera ever sent to another planet.

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, or HiRISE, weighs 145 lbs (on earth); with a primary optical mirror half a meter wide and it can take pictures with of 1,200 megapixels of digital resolution.

From mars orbit, this monster camera can see things as small as a dishwasher. It is due to arrive in March 2006 to begin mapping Mars in detail, according to NASA scientists.

By the time the orbiter reaches Mars it would have travelled more than 400 million km.