>From: Wai-Lun Yeung

>Subject: FW: 2 moons on August 27

>Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2003 06:46:51 +0100

>Hi everyone,

>It's going to be a rare sight so remember - don't miss the

>opportunity to view 2 moons in the sky -27 AUGUST 2003.

>Never again in your lifetime will the Red Planet be so

>spectacular!

>This month and next month the 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.

>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 to the naked eye. Mars will be easy to spot. At

>the beginning of August, Mars 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 when it comes to

>seeing something that no human has seen in recorded history. So

>mark your calendar at thebeginning of August to see Mars grows

>progressively brighter and brighter throughout the month.

>Share with friends, children and grandchildren and with everyone

>you know, as no one alive today will ever see this again.

>___________________________________________________________________

>Electronic mail messages entering and leaving Arup business

>systems are scanned for acceptability of content and viruses.