For Those Of You Interested In Astronomy
08-04-2003, 06:32 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 2,550
Mars will appear as large as the moon.................
Interesting.................
Now appearing at the world's theater near you!
A major event and I hope to be able to watch!
MARK AUGUST 27th ON YOUR CALENDAR
MARS WILL APPEAR AS BIG AS THE MOON!
FIRST TIME IN AT LEAST 5,000 YEARS!
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.
On August 27, Mars will come 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 the 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 friends, children and grandchildren. No one alive today will ever see this again!
Interesting.................
Now appearing at the world's theater near you!
A major event and I hope to be able to watch!
MARK AUGUST 27th ON YOUR CALENDAR
MARS WILL APPEAR AS BIG AS THE MOON!
FIRST TIME IN AT LEAST 5,000 YEARS!
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.
On August 27, Mars will come 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 the 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 friends, children and grandchildren. No one alive today will ever see this again!
08-04-2003, 06:42 PM
#4
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 2,550
actually the e-mail message came from my parents in the states
lol.. we were sitting out at the shop the other night and I looked up and said is that bright *** star red? and sombody said maybe it's mars, and I said hell no, that's as bright as venus... lol.. guess I was wrong..
lol.. we were sitting out at the shop the other night and I looked up and said is that bright *** star red? and sombody said maybe it's mars, and I said hell no, that's as bright as venus... lol.. guess I was wrong..
08-04-2003, 06:54 PM
#6
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Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Corvallis, Oregon
Posts: 223
I am an astronomer and have observed mars for a few years. There is no way that Mars (which is no larger than any star to the naked eye) could suddenly swing such a close orbit to Earth to have an angular image size large enough to even show up as a disc, let alone occult the moon.
08-04-2003, 07:01 PM
#7
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 2,550
