Sunday dreaming of Mars and beyond

It's a bright Sunday morning, and thousands of runners are mingling around downtown Spokane after completing — or, in some cases, witnessing — the 39th Bloomsday Run.

I'm doing neither, thank you, being allergic to crowds — and having, years ago, done my duty by completing a dozen or so Bloomsday pilgrimages. Knees don't work forever.

Instead, I'm thinking of the stars. Or at least our solar system. In particular, I'm thinking about the planet Mars — which, thanks to an app on my smartphone, I can easily pick out when it's visible in our Northwestern skies.

I don't own a telescope (yet), and so I'm limited to stargazing through binoculars. But even through a telescope, I wouldn't be able to see the landscape of Mars as well as is provided in this panoramic view courtesy of NASA, the Jet Propulsion Lab and the Mars Curiosity Rover. Check it out and see just how barren the Martian landscape is.

And then imagine the task facing those astronauts who have volunteered to be the first to colonize the Red Planet. Those in the video embedded below are getting just a taste.