Guest guest Posted August 1, 2003 Report Share Posted August 1, 2003 Dear members, I got this mail from a friend, hope it is useful to some. Sushmita Mark your Calendar, this is a once in a lifetime Event!!! Never again in our lifetime will the Red Planet be so spectacular.This month and next, Earth is catching up with Mars, an encounter thatwill culminate in the closest approach between the two planets inrecorded history. Due to the way Jupiter's gravity tugs on Mars andperturbs its orbit, astronomers can only be certain that Mars has notcome this close to Earth in the last 5,000 years but it may be as longas 60,000 years.The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to within34,649,589 miles and will be (next to the moon) the brightest object inthe night sky. It will attain a magnitude of -2.9 and will appear 25.11arc seconds wide. At a modest 75-power magnification Mars will look aslarge as the full moon to the naked eye.Mars will be easy to spot. At the beginning of August Mars will rise inthe east at 10 p.m. and reach its azimuth at about 3 a.m. But by the endof August when the two planets are closest, Mars will rise at nightfalland reach its highest point in the sky at 12:30 a.m.So mark your calendar at the beginning of August to see Mars growprogressively brighter and brighter throughout the month. Share thisknowledge with everyone and especially the children. No one alive today will see this again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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