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Mars


sand chick
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I thought this was kind of a cool thing.. thought I would share it.

Something to look forward to this summer.

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 see Mars grow

progressively brighter and brighter throughout the

month.

Share this with your children and grandchildren.

NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN

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Hate to do this to you Jodi, but that's an outdated email that keeps getting circulated every year. Mars DID come closer than ever, but it was back in 03. And it only seemed as large as the moon when viewed through a 75x telescope. My little sister gave me chit about this same thing when I called her all excited last year... :blink:

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