Mars August Viewing

[talik]

I have received the following message from a few friends, but can't seem to verify the validity of the message. Please advise me if this is true.<br /><br /> MARS SPECTACULAR! <br /><br />The Red Planet is about to be spectacular! This month and next, Earth is<br />catching up with Mars in an encounter that will culminate in the closest<br />approach between the two planets in recorded history.<br /><br />The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287. Due to the way Jupiter's<br />gravity tugs on Mars and perturbs its orbit, astronomers can only be certain<br />that Mars has not come this close to Earth in the Last 5,000 years, but it<br />may be as long as 60,000 years before it happens again.<br /><br />The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to within<br />34,649,589 miles of Earth and will be (next to the moon) the brightest<br />object in the night sky. It will attain a magnitude of -2.9 and will appear<br />25.11 arc seconds wide. At a modest 75-power magnification<br /><br />Mars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. Mars will be easy<br />to spot. At the beginning of August it will rise in the east at 10p.m. and<br />reach its azimuth at about 3 a.m.<br /><br />By the end of August when the two planets are closest, Mars will rise at<br />nightfall and reach its highest point in the sky at 12:30 AM. That's pretty<br />convenient to see something that no human being has seen in recorded<br />history. So, mark your calendar at the beginning of August to see Mars grow<br />progressively brighter and brighter throughout the month.<br />

 

[jcdenton]

Sounds like a 2 year old email message. <img src="/images/icons/rolleyes.gif" /><br /><br />There is a Mars opposition this year in November, but it won't be as close as the one in the summer of '03. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[talik]

Thanks much for the replies gang. I figured that was an old message, but it never hurts to check.

 

[odysseus145]

BTW, Mars will NEVER appear to be as large as a full moon unless you are looking through a really good telescope. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[sonicgroove]

I agree. If Mars ever got close enough to look as large as our moon, we would all be in some trouble. The gravitational pull of the moon would cause some extremely high tides back here on Earth. For more information on this hoax email, visit NASA's website pertaining to this Email: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/07jul_marshoax.htm?list11930

 

[Leovinus]

http://www.snopes.com/science/mars.asp<br /><br />They even mention "space.com" <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[angelfishsolo]

Well this was from the BBC (UK) Web Site, so I guess it depends where you are.<br /><br />Mars will make its closest approach to Earth for almost 60,000 years on Wednesday. Dr Robin Catchpole, senior astronomer at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, London, explains how to witness the event. <br /> <br /> ...in many ways familiar and yet very different... <br /><br />Robin Catchpole <br />Every 26 months, the Earth overtakes Mars on the inside track as they both orbit the Sun. <br /><br />Every 15 to 17 years, this happens when Mars is closest to the Sun. <br /><br />On 27 August this year they will pass at a distance of 55,760,000 km or 0.3727 AU (1 AU is the distance of the Earth from the Sun), closer than any time during the last 60,000 years. <br /><br />At its closest, Mars will be 25 seconds of arc in diameter, the size of a tennis ball at a distance of 528 metres. <br /><br />However, on the scale of the tennis ball, this approach is only 18 centimetres closer than in 1924, although 110 metres closer than in 2001. <br /><br /> <br />Mars is already visible with the naked eye <br />By late August it will be just above the horizon, south of east, soon after sunset <br />The planet will be the brightest object in the sky, appearing orange red <br />To see any surface detail requires a good quality telescope <br />Throughout July, August and September, Mars will be easy to see with the naked eye. Each night it will rise earlier, until by late August it will be just above the horizon, south of east, soon after sunset. <br /><br />Once risen, it will be the brightest object in the sky, appearing orange red. From the latitude of the UK, it will never rise higher than 22 degrees and you will need an unobstructed view to the south to see it. <br /><br />Mars will appear at its very best from the Southern Hemisphere, where by the middle of the night it will be high in the sky and its brightness and colour will make it very obvious. <br /><br />To see any surface detail requires a good quality t

 

[3488]

For goodness sake. This happened in August 2003. It is now August 2006. THREE YEARS TOO LATE. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>