> > Dear all,
> > Be sure to mark your calendar and remember to watch!! MARK AUGUST
> > 27th ON YOUR CALENDAR!
> >
> > MARS WILL APPEAR AS BIG AS THE MOON! FIRST TIME IN AT LEAST 5,000
> > YEARS!
> >
> > Never again in your lifetime will the Red Planet (Mars) 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 be as long as 60,000 years.
> >
> > On August 27, Mars will come 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 10 pm and reach its azimuth at about 3 am. But by the end
> > of August when these two planets are closest, Mars will rise at
nightfall
> > and reach its highest point in the sky at 12:30 am. That's pretty
> > convenient when it comes to seeing something that no human has seen in
> > recorded
> > history.
> >
> > So don't miss it. Mark your calendar at the beginning of August to
> > see Mars grow progressively brighter throughout the month.
> >
> > Share this with your friends, children and grandchildren. No one
> > alive today will ever see this again!!!
> >
> >
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> >
>
>