April 8th, 2014 - View Mars live! Tonight

View Mars live! Tonight (April 8th), beginning at 23:00 Universal Time , Gianluca Masi is providing a webcast to show Mars telescopically.

Visit his Virtual Telescope Project for details.

This month we’re closer to Mars than Earth has come for almost 6½ years. The Red Planet appears brighter and bigger in the evening sky than it has since December 2007.

In the middle two weeks of April, Mars will shine at a brightness of magnitude –1.5 (matching Sirius’s bright luster), and in a telescope it will appear 15.1 arcseconds across. That’s still pretty tiny, but it’s larger than Mars has been at its past few oppositions, (The planet will peak out with an apparent width of 24.3 arcseconds in July 2018. Mark your calendars, astronomers!)


More at Sky & Telescope

If you want to observe from the comfort of your own home, there is an online observing session hosted by The Virtual Telescope Project 2.0.The Night of the Red Planet will be hosted on April 8th, 2014 at 11:00 p.m. UT.

#marsone #Marstronaut What would you do if you see an alien in #Mars?

#AskMarsOne @MarsOneProject Considering the science and technology advancement in this era, I am very much positive that #marsmission by #marsone will going to be a historic success. After successful landing in #mars, what would you do if you find some of these #aliens? What would be the order from @marsoneproject?

 

Everything you need to know about the #Marsmission by #Marsone. #infographics

Explore more infographics like this one on the web's largest information design community - Graphs.net.

Life is more crazy and interesting now

I was talking with my family after a while as I had some busy deadlines, suddenly got an email from Marsone. My thoughts were kinda like "ohh may be one more email about online shopping or funding, is it the biggest hoax or something?"

I clicked the link with a reluctant mind and read the first few words

OMG really? I rubbed my eyes few time and read it again. That was the real moment everything changed in my life.

Am I going to depart alive from earth forever? No one has done it before.. How am I going to convince family and my girl? As just 45 days are left for my wedding.

All these questions kept me awake for few hours and then I started asking this to me..

Don't you wanna contribute to the the first ever extraterrestrial extension of life?
Don't you wanna be in the team of first ever human ambassadors to Mars?
Don't you wanna reach somewhere where no human being has ever been?

People will call your mom and dad, parents of the first ever Mastronauts.
People will call your darling , wife of the aspiring and adventurous Martian.
You kids will be proud of you. :)

My heart was like a fight club with all these question, suddenly one question just stopped my heart and mind for a while.. What if you just die on the way or as soon you land on the red planet?

What.. no answer..
What.. no answer..
What.. hmmmm...no answer..
What..
What
What..

After a while.. it was just a calm situation in my heart...suddenly from some corner, a thought popped up..

What if you go out and die in a car accident?
What if a snake bites you while camping?
More people die falling from bed than on road..

Everyone of us has to go though this phase.. so why not risk it for a carefully measured scientific research?

Even if you die, will not you save the lives of other crew members who are waiting to join you in the near future? Is it not your hobby to risk your life to save a life?

Yes. yes. yes.. :) finally I made my mind that I am going to try my best to made this happen.

I wrote few lines about me, my emotions and sent it to all the local media at my place that I am the only one NRI living in Qatar applied and made it to round 2. I am one in 1058 in 265,000.

Got some good response from all. The RJ in the local radio (QF radio) whom I admire the most, asked me to join him on air..local popular media took all the details and will make an article about me.. got 20 twitter followers in an hour.. life just started changing it directions..

Now I gotta be more fit..

I need to take care of my family friends as much as I can, as I would be leaving them soon permanently..

Need to organize myself to practice the 5 basic characteristics of an Astronaut.

Now so many goals are in my TO DO list..

I am sure it will be a successful scientific mission..as until we crossed flat ocean which might have drowned us to death, we could not have find the Americas..now we are at the same situation, it is better to try than skip it and regret. Even if it is not successful, my life is going to change and it will reach the best of ME.

Hoping for the best.