Re: MARS SPECTACULAR COMING--Huh?
- From: Melvin Robinson <melrobinson1@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 19 Jun 2005 20:43:21 -0500
Somebody is recirculating this two year old story. Two people have
written to me recently to ask about the August 27 record breaking
close approach.
This year, Mars is largest in our skies on October 30 at 20.17
arcseconds, a few days before opposition.
Mel
On Tue, 07 Jun 2005 04:28:02 GMT, "W. Watson"
<wolf_tracks@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>I haven't been engaged much in astronomy for months because of our bad weather
>here in California. Although the last few weeks have been pretty decent, my
>schedule has been filled with other matters. I've had two people send me the
>message below. Am I missing something. That was last year wasn't it? Did Mars
>get a bump? :-)
>
>
> >
>
> > *Subject:* MARS SPECTACULAR COMING
> >
> > Those of you who live in the L.A. area, fugetiboutit.
> > You can't see your hand in front of your face. LOL!!!
> >
> > 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
> > 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.
> >
.
- References:
- MARS SPECTACULAR COMING--Huh?
- From: W. Watson
- MARS SPECTACULAR COMING--Huh?
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