CityNews – Excited stargazers were disappointed on May 22 when they attempted to observe Mars pass close to the earth, but was hampered by thick cloud cover.
Many people including a large number of students joined together at the Sirindhorn Observation Centre at Chiang Mai University on May 22 to watch Mars pass the night’s sky, the closest it has passed the earth since 2005.
However, the sky was so cloudy that unfortunately Mars was not visible.
Dr. Saran Poshyachinda, the Deputy Director of the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (Public Organization) said that during May 22-31 is the time people can observe Mars travel past the earth at a distance of 75.28 million kilometres.
Mars, to the naked eye, will appear as an orange colour star. During this time, Venus is also visible and both Venus and the Moon are at closer distances to the earth too.
May 31st is the next scheduled viewing of Mars, with telescopes being set up outside Maya Lifestyle Shopping Mall from 6pm to 10pm.