The European Space Agency’s (ESA) unmanned mission to Mars is suffering from power shortages after its solar panels stopped functioning, the Russian space agency, Rosaviakosmos, said Wednesday.
August 27th, 2003
Jakartans jostle for free tickets to see Mars
Hundreds of people jostled at the only observatory in the Indonesian capital Jakarta Wednesday for a free ticket to catch a glimpse of Mars as the Red Planet passes closer to Earth than at any time in the last 60,000 years. School children in uniform struggled with adults to get a ticket which will allow each of them to look at Mars for two minutes at the Jakarta Planetarium.
August 27th, 2003
Mars encounter will be “hostile” for India say astrologers
The proximity of the planet Mars, which will be its closest to Earth in almost 60,000 years on Wednesday, is likely to be “hostile” for India, astrologers warned. Lachhman Das Madan, chief of the Astrology Study and Research Institute in the capital New Delhi, said the Mars encounter was “a dark planetary configuration” and would unleash “negative energy.”
August 27th, 2003
Mars approach will make men randy, Portuguese astrologer warns
The proximity of the planet Mars, which will be its closest to Earth for almost 60,000 years on Wednesday, will make men more predisposed to having sex, a Portuguese astologer has warned. “Men will be sexually more active,” Rui Lorga told daily newspaper A Capital. “But it will not be just them, obviously women will also feel the influence of Mars, however in a more subtle way,” he added.
August 27th, 2003
Mars movements spark huge rise in German “UFO sightings”
As the planet Mars has moved to its closest point to Earth in around 60,000 years, the number of “UFO sightings” in Germany has soared, a researcher said Wednesday. “I’m hearing some of the most outrageous claims at the moment,” said Werner Walter, who heads Germany’s CENAP centre tasked with investigating reports about unidentified flying objects.
August 27th, 2003
Astronomers flock to observatories as Mars closes in, hope for clear skies
Tens of thousands of astronomers in Asia got a close-up look at Mars as the Red Planet passed closer to Earth than at any time in the last 60,000 years Wednesday, although cloudy weather prevented many from witnessing the spectacle.
August 27th, 2003
Quaking astrologers spell disaster as Mars bears down on Earth
Death and destruction will stalk the Earth as Mars, bringer of war, terrorism and disaster, rumbles Wednesday to its closest point to our planet for 60,000 years, awestruck astrologers warn. While stargazers excitedly grab their telescopes for an unprecedented glimpse of the Red Planet, soothsayers insist the focus should instead be on survival, as Earth’s violent celestial neighbour rampages ominously close
August 27th, 2003
California’s cutting-edge telescopes prepare for Mars-gazing
California’s observatories and planetariums on Wednesday were preparing telescopes for hundreds of astronomy buffs seeking to zoom in on Mars as it makes its closest approach to Earth in 60,000 years.
August 27th, 2003
For that perfect Mars pic, French stargazers marry optics and the Internet
As Mars span towards its closest rendezvous with the Earth since the Stone Age on Wednesday, a group of French enthusiasts counted on off-the-shelf Internet technology to get that perfect snap to show their grandchildren. Although the team at the Ludiver observatory at La Hague, near Cherbourg on the Normandy coast, were mounting a continuous Mars-watch, they also hooked up a simple off-the-shelf webcam to their 60-centimeter optical telescope.
August 27th, 2003
US stages “Mars Parties” for close encounter
Americans held “Mars Parties” and flocked to observatories that were specially opened to mark Earth’s close encounter with the Red Planet on Wednesday. Shops reported a run on telescopes as the public sought out Mars, which was an estimated 55.76 million kilometres (34.65 million miles) from Earth.