Mars

jhockeyref

I received the following email and want to confirn if this is true or not:

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 10 p.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 12:30 a.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.

lone_groover

I think that was two years ago, ie August 2003.

wyldorchids

Yes, it is true. It will be happening all month with the best view August 27th, 2005

Marc

This actually happened in 2003 as lone groover correctly pointed out. However the emails that are circulating now about it occuring again in 2005 are merely an Urban Legend. If you want to read more about this check out:
str_replace("\'","'","http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_mars_encounter.htm")

- Marc

Mars

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