For My Fellow Star Gazers....

[ReDD]

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 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.

NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN!!

Edited August 8, 2005 by Guest

[ReDD]

This was an e-mail someone sent to me this morning. I thought some other people on the board may be interested.

[Booche]

"Mars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye."

Ya may want to re-think this one. Put on that hat Sherlock.

[ReDD]

I just copied and pasted... and have now removed that text.

[Freak By Night]

According to NASA, this is a hoax.

Mars did appear larger than normal in August of 2003. Perhaps a 2-year old e-mail is making the rounds again.

[ReDD]

Well i'm very sorry. I suppose I should have done some research before I posted this. Sorry again guys...

[Freak By Night]

No worries Redd. I'm sure most of us have been fooled be e-mail hoaxes before! I know I have.

[bouche]

snopes to the rescue!

[Guest Low Roller]

I remember one night about seven years ago when Mars and Jupiter were so close to each other in the night sky that they appeared as one brilliant object in the sky. You couldn't miss it. It was as bright as floodlight in the sky. Being an amateur astronomer, seeing something new in the sky was both cool and scary as hell.

[rubberdinghy]

I like to flick burning cigarettes through the night time sky and tell people it was a shooting star.

[paisley]

at a The Dead show in Indiana a couple of years back, was standing beside a somewhat distracted looking fellow... was staring off away from the stage, over the hill just before the encore

as the band returned to the stage he turned back and saw me curious what he scopin... turned back around, pointed and said "Maaaarrrrsssss."

was around this time of the year too... incidently, Mars is looking pretty big in the sky these days, noticed it just last night (look to the east round midnight)

[traveler]

Aug. is great time to watch the persides comet go by. Lots of falling stars after midnite. Are you sure mars is'nt getting closer?

[StoneMtn]

Traveler is correct, and this is some very cool stuff to watch.

Here's a quote from a NASA article about these meteor showers. Click on the quote if you want to read the whole article.

The Perseids come every year, beginning in late July and stretching into August. Sky watchers outdoors at the right time can see colorful fireballs, occasional outbursts and, almost always, long hours of gracefully streaking meteors. Among the many nights of the shower, there is always one night that is best. This year: August 12th.

(I plan to be very tired at work on Friday the 12th...)