sloopy
Commander
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2002
- Messages
- 2,999
I got this email:<br /><br />Never again in your (or my) lifetime will <br />the Red Planet be so <br />spectacular. <br />This month and next, Earth is catching up <br />with Mars, an encounter <br />that <br />will culminate in the closest approach <br />between the two planets in <br />recorded history. The next time Mars may <br />come this close is in <br />2287. <br />Due <br />to the way Jupiter's gravity tugs on Mars <br />and perturbs its orbit, <br />astronomers can only be certain that Mars <br />has not come this close to <br />Earth in the last 5,000 years but it may be <br />as long as 60,000 years. <br />The <br />encounter will culminate on August 27th when <br />Mars comes to within <br />34,649,589 miles and will be (next to the <br />moon) the brightest object <br />in <br />the night sky. It will attain a magnitude <br />of -2.9 and will appear <br />25.11 <br />arc seconds wide. At a modest 75-power <br />magnification, Mars will <br />look as <br />large as the full moon to the naked eye. <br />Mars will be easy to spot. At the beginning <br />of August Mars will <br />rise in <br />the east at 10 p.m. and reach its azimuth at <br />about 3 a.m. But by <br />the <br />end <br />of August when the two planets are closest, <br />Mars will rise at <br />nightfall <br />and reach its highest point in the sky at <br />12:30 a.m. That's pretty <br />convenient when it comes to seeing something <br />that no human has seen <br />in <br />recorded history. <br />So, mark your calendar at the beginning of <br />August to see Mars grow <br />progressively brighter and brighter <br />throughout the month. Share <br />this! <br />No <br />one alive today will ever see this again.<br /><br />I could not figure out if it was true or false.
