[Mb-hair] mars

[Sherwin Ross]

MARS SPECTACULAR! 

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, but it may be as long 

as 60,000 years before it happens again. 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 10 PM and reach its azimuth at about 3 AM. 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 12:30 AM. That's pretty convenient to see 

something 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. 

TOC

 

 

Sherwin Ross

Tribe Member

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.islandlists.com/pipermail/mb-hair/attachments/20050612/505e0c64/attachment.htm