From Blaine Kalar to Jim Rose to me
via email
This is really interesting!! Be sure to mark your calendar, and forward to your friends and family.
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 10pm. 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
This is really interesting!! Be sure to mark your calendar, and forward to your friends and family.
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 10pm. 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
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