The Red Planet is about to be spectacular!
This was in my e-mail, I thought it was interesting information:
The Red Planet is about to be spectacular! This month and next,
Earth is catching up with Mars in an encounter that will culminate in
the closest approach between the two planets in recorded history. The next
time Mars may come this close is in 2287. Due to the way Jupiter's
gravity tugs on Mars and perturbs its orbit, astronomers can only be
certain that Mars has not come this close to Earth in the Last 5,000
years.
The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to
within 34,649,589 miles of Earth and will be (next to the moon) the
brightest object in the night sky. It will attain a magnitude of -2.9
and will appear 25.11 arc seconds wide. At a modest 75-power
magnification.
Mars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. Mars
will be easy to spot. At the beginning of August it will rise in the
east at 10p.m. and reach its azimuth at about 3 a.m.
By the end of August when the two planets are closest, Mars will
rise at nightfall and reach its highest point in the sky at 12:30a.m.
That's pretty convenient to see something that no human being has seen
in recorded history. So, mark your calendar at the beginning of August
to see Mars grow progressively brighter and brighter throughout the
month.
Share this with your children and grandchildren. NO ONE ALIVE
TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN!!!
Be looking.
The Red Planet is about to be spectacular! This month and next,
Earth is catching up with Mars in an encounter that will culminate in
the closest approach between the two planets in recorded history. The next
time Mars may come this close is in 2287. Due to the way Jupiter's
gravity tugs on Mars and perturbs its orbit, astronomers can only be
certain that Mars has not come this close to Earth in the Last 5,000
years.
The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to
within 34,649,589 miles of Earth and will be (next to the moon) the
brightest object in the night sky. It will attain a magnitude of -2.9
and will appear 25.11 arc seconds wide. At a modest 75-power
magnification.
Mars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. Mars
will be easy to spot. At the beginning of August it will rise in the
east at 10p.m. and reach its azimuth at about 3 a.m.
By the end of August when the two planets are closest, Mars will
rise at nightfall and reach its highest point in the sky at 12:30a.m.
That's pretty convenient to see something that no human being has seen
in recorded history. So, mark your calendar at the beginning of August
to see Mars grow progressively brighter and brighter throughout the
month.
Share this with your children and grandchildren. NO ONE ALIVE
TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN!!!
Be looking.
posted by whitechoclatespacegg @ 9:41 PM
8 Comments:
At 11:29 PM, July 19, 2005,
Jessica said…
That is cool! I'll definately check it out. August is my birth month too, so I definately won't forget.
At 11:00 AM, July 20, 2005,
erl said…
that's very cool. thanks for the info!
At 1:31 PM, July 20, 2005,
tim said…
Well Ms. Chocolate!
I definitely want to see and take pictures of that.
At 1:35 PM, July 20, 2005,
mark said…
Mars is my favorite planet that starts with M.
At 6:22 AM, July 21, 2005,
WAMINGO PUBLISHING said…
Maybe a lot of doom sayers will bitch that it's the end of the world as we know it.
And I plan to have myself cloned so that I can see it again in the next couple of centuries.
At 10:02 PM, July 21, 2005,
whitechoclatespacegg said…
I know, I can't wait, it's gonna be awesome!
At 5:53 AM, July 29, 2005,
Anonymous said…
NO MARS is NOT bright, NOT close, NOT what you think.
Please see http://www.snopes.com/science/mars.asp
to see how this 2-year old e-mail is running around again.
Also look at the CoastalBrothers's opinion on this.
At 7:46 AM, July 29, 2005,
whitechoclatespacegg said…
Well I received this e-mail from a friend and could only assume it was real. It does not contain a year in the date it says to look for Mars. I don't exactly have time to research every scientific phenomena I am sent. Looks like Mars will be big in October, not August. Please note you will need a telescope to see it.
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