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Author
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Topic: Mars is getting closer!!
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Heart--Shaped Cross
Newflake Posts: 0
From:
Registered: Nov 2010
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posted August 07, 2006 12:32 PM
  
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 IP: Logged |
Azalaksh
Knowflake Posts: 982
From: New Brighton, MN, USA
Registered: Apr 2009
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posted August 07, 2006 01:26 PM
Bless your heart for sharing this Steve, but I think this was in 2003..... http://www.pparc.ac.uk/Nw/Press/mars_is_getting_closer.asp  Z IP: Logged |
chrissymgreen
unregistered
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posted August 07, 2006 01:51 PM
OK, so I got the same e-mail as Steve, sent by a friend of mine. I thought this seemed rather exciting, so I mentioned it to an astrologer friend of mine who didn't give me any indication that the e-mail was wrong (in fact, she mentioned just how wary she was of what to expect in late August, with Mars so close with the SN and squaring Pluto and opposing NN)...so what gives? Is the e-mail really wrong?
Chrissy
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Kamilla
unregistered
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posted August 07, 2006 03:20 PM
here is another article. Pretty much says the same thing http://urbanlegends.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.earthsky.org/skywatching/topstories.php%3Fdate=20060719 IP: Logged |
Stargazer
Knowflake Posts: 46
From: just left of center
Registered: May 2009
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posted August 07, 2006 03:28 PM
Steve.. I posted the same thing a couple of weeks ago... I got an e-mail on the same thing....
I guess now we won't be up late waiting on something that isn't going to happen  IP: Logged |
Lady Macbeth
unregistered
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posted August 07, 2006 04:21 PM
HSC - I appreciate the effort you put in, copying and pasting those bits, but I, too, had already received this mass email several times over the past two years.IP: Logged |
katipo
unregistered
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posted August 07, 2006 05:50 PM
When this amazing event did happen in 2003, Mars was an incredible sight in the night sky for me (here at the bottom of the world) One thing that stood OUT for me, Antares (in Scorpius) apparently means "rival of mars" .....has no chance against Mars when he's that close to us, though Antares is a beautiful star. Here in the Southern hemisphere, Scorpius is highly visible. Luckily he hung around for months (Mars that is) I'm a keen stargazer, so it was a thrill, he was as bright as Jupiter at least and RED. Thanks for reminding me about it, t'was a beautiful sight. IP: Logged | |
Lindaland
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