If you’re interested in traveling to Mars, a round-trip ticket can be purchased for a bargain-basement price. And the trip leaves from Sylvania Township.
Kind of.
Lourdes University is hosting “Invaders of Mars,” a presentation at the Appold Planetarium, which will take viewers to the red planet’s deep canyons, polar ice caps, and volcanoes. The family-friendly program will run for four days in November. Admission is $5 for adults and $4 for children 12 and under.
“We’ve been studying Mars since 1965 when Mariner 4 landed,” said Laura J. Megeath, coordinator of the Appold Planetarium. “Since then, we’ve sent more spacecraft to Mars than any other place in space. I want to help people learn about what history we have with Mars. Mars is very much in the public eye right now. I want to do a program that would help sort the fact from the fiction.”
Lourdes University’s Appold Planetarium features a SciDome, a fulldome video system powered by Starry Night, the most comprehensive astronomy software, which allows real-time 3D sky simulation. Ms. Megeath wants to be able to make people feel as if they’re on Mars. Among the planetarium’s features is the ability to display a Mars sunrise, offering stunning vistas that make you think of southern California instead of outer space.
There are nine planets in the solar system — eight if you don’t include Pluto — but none have captured the public’s attention quite like Mars.
“The first couple missions to Venus literally crashed and burned,” Ms. Megeath said. “You’re not going to survive there. Mars is the next closest place, and we know a lot of really intriguing things about it.”
The United States’ first successful mission to the red planet was in 1965, with more than a dozen return trips in the past half-century. But none have ever included a human.
The release of The Martian brought Mars back to the public consciousness, prompting Ms. Megeath to organize the planetarium’s program. The latest discoveries made by the United States and NASA will be discussed as well as the science and science fiction surrounding Mars and the quest to find water and perhaps life.
“Mars is the most accessible place in the entire solar system, given how close it is and what we know of its characteristics,” Ms. Megeath said. “I think science is way more fascinating than science fiction. The truth is way more interesting than what we expected.”
Contact Kyle Rowland at: krowland@theblade.com, 419-724-6282, or on Twitter @KyleToledoBlade.
First Published November 2, 2015, 5:00 a.m.
