[Rhodes22-list] FW: Mars Alert

[Steve Alm]

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 have been 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
does 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. And 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.