STORM2K

Worth staying up for...

CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH MARS

This month and next Earth is catching up with Mars, 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.

The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to within
34,649,589 miles 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 he naked eye.

Mars will be easy to spot. At the beginning of August Mars will rise in
the east at 10 p.m. and reach its azimuth at about 3 a.m. But 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 12:30 a.m. That's pretty convenient
when it comes to seeing something that no human 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.

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No one alive today will ever see this again.

WOW... that is certainly worth dragging the dusty ol telescope onto the porch for!

the South Polar Cap on Mars is very evident and the atmosphere is clear so the dark markings can be easily seen with power. Actually, Venus is always brighter than Mars and Jupiter usually so though not right now and Venus is not in the night sky. One possible problem is that there is a good chance for a Global dust storm on Mars around the time of closest approach so that could spoil the view. Venus makes news next with the Transit of Venus across the disk of the Sun-the first one since 1882.

Steve

I'll certainly be watching for these events!

(Johnathan, weren't you trying to sell your
telescope, a while back?)

One of my "unknown" aspirations as a child was to become an astronomer; didn't happen, but I stil keep an eye on the heavens every time something new turns up (does anyone remember the short ten-minute filler show "Star Gazer" with Jack Horkheimer on late-night PBS?).

I'll be watching...

I love watching that stuff. I be lookin up

Thanks for the heads up David...I'll definitely be watching

I will most likely view this "event." Bill, I remember Jack Horkheimer on late-night PBS. He wasn't on in every market. The same program was on once a week, but ran for five days. They were five minute episodes.

Oh, yeah, that's right! I only saw him on Sunday nights after watching "Dr. WHO", back in the late 80's...

BTW, Mars is already "strutting its stuff"; 15 minutes ago, I had to take Annabelle (she be a ho') out on her morning "constitutional", and THAR SHE BLOWS...not just the brightest heavenly object, it was the ONLY one visible here, at about 70 degrees from the southern horizon! Red and blinking wildly through the haze above, it is unfortunate that I don't have a long-range telescope...