Men, it is time to return to Mars!
We will never see this again in our lifetime, nor will the people of the next Fifty to One Thousand life times!
Mars, 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 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 at nightfall and reach its highest point in the sky at 12:30a.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 seeMars grow progressively brighter and brighter throughout the month.
All this geeky space stuff to say that I am starting a cult, al biet late in the game, that will gather the forces of men and drag them off to Mars where we came from!
Okay fine, maybe not Mars, but just my bedroom that has a red light bulb in it and some movie cameras and inspirational films to watch. Any takers?
posted by Mr Pants @ 9:17 AM
5 comments
5 Comments:
Isn't it much easier to explore Uranus? Sign me up for the expedition.
Thanks for the astronomical information. I will have to check it out later in the month.
I am sure the line for your rocket must be long by now. All I want to know is "Are you IN any of the inspirational films?"
Yeah! I like it when you explore Myanu... um ... Uranus. :)
Hmmm. Oh to be pulling out my telescope and exploring black holes outdoors under a full-Mars.
This is in fact not true.
The 34-million mile approach of Mars and Earth occurred three years ago.
Mars and Earth do occasionally approach each other more closely than normal, but these events are not nearly as spectacular as the email forward claims. Indeed, if Mars is ever so close as to appear moon-sized to the naked eye, it would have more than two times the gravitic attraction with the Earth than the Earth currently experiences with the Moon. Meaning that there would be significant and probably catastrophic effects such that you wouldn't need to look at the sky to see that something was up.
Post a Comment
<< Home