The Hardin Planetarium’s upcoming program “The New Mars” will discuss how the knowledge about Mars has changed with the acquisition of new data from robot probes.

Mars, the “Red Planet,” is named after the Roman god of war. Science fiction writers have long populated Mars with alien civilizations and fantastic creatures. However, data from the first space probes to visit Mars suggested that Mars was more like the Moon than the Earth. More recent probes such as the Rovers and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have revealed that Mars indeed has many Earth-like characteristics and once had water on its surface.

“The New Mars” program will begin at 7 p.m. Sept. 28; current evening constellations will be pointed out at the beginning of the program.

The program will continue through Oct. 28 on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 7 and Sunday afternoons at 2 (except Oct. 7 and 10 during WKU fall break). Admission is free.

Visit the Hardin Planetarium website at http://physics.wku.edu/planetarium  for the complete schedule.