Topic awaiting preservation: Mars Moves Closer to Earth

Here's an E-Mail that was sent to me:

quote:

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FYI May be fun to look at...


CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH MARS
Never again in your lifetime will the Red Planet be so spectacular


This month and next Earth is catching up with Mars, 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.

The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to within
34,649,589 miles 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 he naked eye.

Mars will be easy to spot. At the beginning of August Mars will rise in
the east at 10 p.m. and reach its azimuth at about 3 a.m. But 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 a.m. That's pretty
convenient when it comes to seeing something that no human 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 with your
children and grandchildren. No one alive today will ever see this again.

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[This message has been edited by Rauthrin (edited 08-10-2003).]

Now get yourself a copy of Jeff Wayne's: war of the worlds. Go out the city (an leave the overwhelming lights ) and have fun.

__________________________________________
"Art has to be forgotten. Beauty must be realized."
Piet Mondriaan

quote:

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Go out the city (an leave the overwhelming lights and have fun

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That's our backyard..and we will. =)

Thanks Rauthrin for what I guess really is a 'Heads up.' =)

great - i cant wait to see that

PORTFOLIO0

now i remember, that was awesome

---------------------------
I'll Procrastinate Tomorrow.
I NEED YOUR HELP. PLEASE

... and that's why Japan, Europe and the US are all slinging things at the planet right now ... you can get more payload onto a vehicle wich needs less fuel ...

http://www.rssd.esa.int/MarsExpress
http://sci.esa.int/marsexpress
http://beagle2.open.ac.uk/index.htm
http://www.src.le.ac.uk/projects/beagle2/index.htm
http://www.isas.ac.jp/e/enterp/missions/nozomi/
http://www.the-planet-mars.com/
http://mars.tracker.nasa.gov/

... Enjoy the reading ...


Bug-free software only exisits in two places
A programmer's mind and a salesman's lips

[This message has been edited by trib (edited 08-14-2003).]

It's getting to be quite the sight alright. Fortunately where I live there's very little light pollution.

For those Asylumites in Australia, or more precisely, Melbourne, it's been reported you can see Mars at what appears its closest on August 27th at 7:51pm.
Cheers.

"You don't know how paralysing that is, that stare of a blank canvas, which says to the painter: you can't do a thing." - Vincent Van Gogh