[Stryker412]

We will never see this again in our lifetime

...nor will the people of the next 50-to-1,000 Life Times!
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

Pretty cool. I have an observatory where I work, so I'll definitely be taking a look.

[2142(Slayer)]

really cool and interesting.Never knew that coming.Where did you get this.Is is your knowlegde or from somewhere else

[Stryker412]

It was passed around at work via e-mail.

[Viewsat EXTreme]

Source SPACE.COM

On Aug. 28, 2003, Mars will be at "opposition," the moment when the Sun, Earth and Mars will form a straight line; since we are closer to the Sun than Mars, this is also when we are overtaking Mars in our respective orbits.
Mars comes to opposition about every 26 months. But because of the elliptical orbits of Earth and Mars, not all oppositions are created equal. The 2003 opposition will be superior to all the others because Mars will be very near to its closest point to the Sun, called perihelion, when it arrives at opposition.
Such "perihelic oppositions" of Mars are in themselves, rather infrequent, occurring about every 15 to 17 years. The most recent one took place in September 1988, when Mars passed to within 36.5 million miles (58.7 million kilometers) of Earth.
Though Mars' opposition comes comes on Aug. 28, it will be closest to Earth on Aug. 27.
At the close approach, the Red Planet will be brighter than Jupiter and all the stars in the night sky, outshone only by Venus and the Moon.



Thats OLD news dude lol..

[Stryker412]

Your article just talks about the orbits lining up. I believe these two articles are not related.

[Stryker412]

heh just found this:

http://www.space.com/scienceastronom...mars_hoax.html

[-=TANK=-]

Ya know.. every year there is a new "You'll only see this once in your lifetime event" It kinda cracks me up.. lol but its kewl none the less

[Wilson]

Thanks for wasting 3 minutes of my life!