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.

 

Pssssssst. This was in 2003!

http://www.space.com/spacewatch/mars...ew_021108.html

 

Uh oh.

 

Yeah, the slightly exagerrated description of Mars already happened.


So you got burned...

 

I saw Haley's Comet.
Thats enough astronomy for one lifetime. The next one will probably be the "Big Bang"

 

He's an Aggie, what'd you expect

 

Hey now. I just got that in an email. Don't kill the messenger.

 

oh, thats ok BBlue.

Any hunting around you?

 

OK, so Mars is not going to be so close this month, but here is what is going to happen instead:

Starting Friday night, Mercury, Venus and Saturn will appear to be so close together that the bright trio will look like a new constellation. The rare grouping, which can be viewed through Sunday night, will be followed Monday night with Mercury and Venus separated by such a small distance that some observers may mistake the two planets for one large star.

The planets won't be in any danger of a galactic collision. They'll still be millions of miles away from one another, but from Earth they'll look as if they're side by side.

The Monday night separation of Mercury and Venus by one-tenth of one degree - or one-third of the visible surface of a full moon - isn't expected to happen again until 2070.

"They'll be pretty darn close," said Geoff Chester, an astronomer at the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington.

The appearance of three planets so seemingly close to one another is less rare and can be seen every five to 10 years, Chester said. Mercury, Venus and Saturn will appear to be within three full moons of each other this weekend.

The trio doesn't mark a transforming celestial occurrence, but rather the coincidence of the planets' different orbits, scientists said.

"Having the planets visible at the same time is quite a sight, but ... it happens, no big deal," said Allan Treiman, a senior staff scientist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston.

Though they aren't scientifically significant, the planetary maneuverings are an easy way for people to become re-engaged in star-watching because the planets can be seen without instruments, said Jack Horkheimer, the host of "Jack Horkheimer: Star Gazer," a Miami-based weekly PBS show. He said Americans, especially those in cities, had trouble star-gazing because streetlights obscured most of what could be seen at night.

"These are the kinds of things that have deeply impressed the minds of our ancestors for thousands of years," he said of the planets' close proximity. "It's wonderful to be able to connect with your ancestors, to see what your ancestors saw."

The best time to view the phenomenon is 30 to 45 minutes after sunset (set to take place at about 8:30 p.m. EDT). Observers will find the planets in the western sky. Streetlights shouldn't block them out, Horkheimer said, because they probably won't be on yet.

Venus, which will be sandwiched between Mercury and Saturn, will give off a very bright light. Mercury, to Venus' right, will give off a pinkish hue. Saturn will be to the left of Venus and will look white. Horkheimer recommended using binoculars or telescopes to see some of the planets' striking details, such as Saturn's rings.

Being able to see Mercury clearly is eventful in itself, Chester said, because the planet closest to the sun is rarely seen in a dark sky. He noted that the 16th-century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, who theorized correctly that the sun was the center of the universe, never saw Mercury.

"You have an opportunity to make an observation, albeit a casual one, that was missed by one of the world's great thinkers," Chester said. "For me, that's worth a few minutes of time from my everyday life."

 

My recent encounter with astronomy was a note home from my son's teacher about his full moon on the school bus I guess I should not have told him about my time in the frat house and our road trip activites

 

Widelod puts on his "Dad" face ... secretly hiding a smile and the urge to give Jr. a high-five and say ... "At's my boy !!! Chip off the ol' block."


PISTOL

 

Stan: Thats way too much infomaton!!! Glad to see you are back on the board.

John (DH)

 

Simple; if it's too much info, then don't read it. The extra info is for the DTR members that have waaaaay toooo much time on their hands.
BTW, thanks for the welcome back.

 

MAN!!

and people talk about snail mail being slow