Over-Head
07-18-2005, 04:41 PM
Any one know if there's any truth to this ?
(sorry of it's be posted before, I haven't hardly logged in for 2 weeks.)
MARS SPECTACULAR
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.
By August 27, 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 12:30 a.m. That's
pretty convenient to see something that no human being has seen in
recorded history.
(sorry of it's be posted before, I haven't hardly logged in for 2 weeks.)
MARS SPECTACULAR
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.
By August 27, 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 12:30 a.m. That's
pretty convenient to see something that no human being has seen in
recorded history.