Subject:
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Time to see Mars
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.space
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Date:
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Fri, 15 Aug 2003 18:06:06 GMT
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Viewed:
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220 times
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The 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 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 before it happens
again.
The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to within 34,649,589
miles of Earth 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 it will
rise in the east at 10 p.m. and reach its azimuth at about 3 a.m.
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 to see something that no human being 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.
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: Time to see Mars
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| (...) Indeed! (...) As much as I have been excited about this since reading an article that said the same thing, I don't quite understand how a "75-power magnification" can be considered by "the naked eye". Either we have binoculars or telescopes or (...) (21 years ago, 15-Aug-03, to lugnet.space, FTX)
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