[MIham] First Time in Human History - don miss it

[Duane Fischer, W8DBF]

When I was still sighted, in the Summer from 1956-1958, in the northeastern part
of the state of South Dakota, I saw Mars the largest I had ever seen it or ever
would until I was blinded in 1964. The planet was easily seen, was nearly as
large as the moon and obviously a reddish color. About twilight, it was so
obvious in the sky it was impossible not to see! 	
	
Yet Mars was not that close to the Earth, so say the astronomical texts.	
	
Well, everybody in northeastern SD saw it and commented about it, so there are
many thousands who saw it besides myself. Something went on there, and the
description of this close approach sure matches what we saw then. No question it
was Mars, I was an astronomy buff and knew my sky charts well. But if Mars was
not close enough to be seen like this, then how does one explain it? Too bad I
am unable to see this one, as then I could compare the two. Oh well, I guess I
may never know why Mars looked as it did in those South Dakota skies.	
	
 
----------
From: FSK <n8uvi at localnet.com>
To: MIham <miham at mailman.qth.net>; LARC General List <larc at k8sn.org>;
Information List <Newslist312 at yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [MIham] First Time in Human History - don miss it
Date: Wednesday, July 13, 2005 11:22 PM

Thx Con, 4 This one!

>
> Mars is going to be a second moon of earth for a day.
>
> NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN.
>
> The Red Planet (MARS) 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. By August 27, 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.
>
>
>
>
>


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