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Mars Opposition & Worried Astronomers

Mars. Photo: NASA

This week Mars is set to come closer to Earth than it has been in more than a decade. The Mars Opposition is when the red planet becomes a visible bright red spot in the night sky. We’ll talk with Seminole State College planetarium director Derek Demeter about the opposition and how to experience it from home.

Then, SpaceX launched another batch of its Starlink Satellites this week -- but the orbital constellation is causing some worry in the observational astronomy community. How are these tiny satellites impacting the future of night-sky observations? Our panel of expert scientists from UCF weigh in.

And, we speak with NASA Astronaut Shannon Walker ahead of her mission to the International Space Station, hitching a ride on SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule.

Brendan Byrne is Central Florida Public Media's Assistant News Director, managing the day-to-day operations of the newsroom, editing daily news stories, and managing the organization's internship program. Byrne also hosts Central Florida Public Media's weekly radio show and podcast "Are We There Yet?" which explores human space exploration, and the weekly news roundup podcast "The Wrap."