We Will Never See This Again in Our Lifetime
MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THIS DATE: AUGUST 27TH
...nor will the people of the next 50-to-1,000 Life Times!
Mars
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 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.
Only Once in our Lifetime...
Only Once in our Lifetime...
"A true friend unbosoms freely, advises justly, assists readily, adventures boldly, and continues a friend unchangeably." - William Penn
" I"m built for comfort not for speed. " - Carl on Jimmy Neutron.
" I"m built for comfort not for speed. " - Carl on Jimmy Neutron.
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- Sojourner
- Posts: 376
- Joined: Wed Feb 07, 2001 6:01 am
- Location: Long Branch, NJ
This was true in 2003 ... not now however :(
http://www.snopes.com/science/mars.asp
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/b ... ounter.htm
http://www.snopes.com/science/mars.asp
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/b ... ounter.htm
Throwing the Bulllshit Flag!
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/b ... r_2006.htm
Damn! Ed beat me to it :(
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/b ... r_2006.htm
Damn! Ed beat me to it :(
Nerox tells you 'Good deal, the other tanks I have don't wanna do it, and since your my special suicidal tank i figure you don't mind one bit!'
Alurissi tells you 'aren't you susposed to get sick or something and not beable to make tia so i can go? :P'
Alurissi tells you 'aren't you susposed to get sick or something and not beable to make tia so i can go? :P'
Re: Only Once in our Lifetime...
Duna wrote:That's pretty convenient to see something that no human being has seen in recorded history.
Even if it weren't three years late, it seems like quite a fuss over a big red rock.
-
- Sojourner
- Posts: 956
- Joined: Thu Feb 21, 2002 6:01 am
- Location: Copenhagen
Re: Only Once in our Lifetime...
Duna wrote:Mars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye.
QFT
rylan wrote:Its still quite a bright object in the sky now though.
Um, not at the moment it isn't.
Mars right now is approaching opposition. You can only see it for about the first hour after sunset, if you're lucky. It won't achieve maximum brightness again (i.e., the conjunctions that spawn these silly legends) until December 2007.
Vandic wields a massive mithril axe of gazebo chopping.
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