Fwd: Red Planet is about to be spectacular

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---------- Forwarded message ----------Sathya Narayanan <s.sathyanarayananJun 22, 2005 9:59 PM

Red Planet is about to be spectacularSrinivasan Deevalur <vaideekamThe 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 closestapproach 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 onMars and perturbs its orbit, astronomers can only be certain that Mars hasnot 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 within34,649,589 miles of Earth and will be (next to the moon) the brightestobject in the night sky. It will attain a magnitude of -

2.9 and will appear25.11 arc seconds wide. At a modest 75-power magnificationMars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. Mars will beeasy 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 atnightfall and reach its highest point in the sky at 12:30a.m. That'spretty convenient to see something that no human being has seen in

recorded history So, mark your calendar at the beginning of August to seeMars grow progressively brighter and brighter throughout the month.Share this with others.

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