[South Florida DX Association] Re: MARS SPECTACULAR!

[Scott / W4PJ]

June, 2005

ANOTHER Close Encounter with Mars?

According to a forwarded email circulating for the past month or so, the
planet Mars is due for an unprecedented close encounter with Earth this
August when a wobble in its orbit brings the two planets closer together
than they have been for thousands of years. "No one alive today will ever
see this again," says the email - which is odd, considering that exactly the
same thing happened two years ago.

Turns out, the email is a recycled message from 2003.

Even so, it's not entirely false. Earth and Mars will pass very close to one
another again in October (not August) 2005, astronomers say, at which time
their orbits will be a mere 43 million miles apart (slightly more than the
35 million miles separating them in 2003). It won't quite equal the
once-in-a-lifetime show of two years ago, but the enounter will be
"breathtaking" nonetheless, scientists predict, with the red planet
outshining every object in the night sky save Venus and the Moon.

http://urbanlegends.about.com/b/a/175663.htm


----- Original Message ----- 
From: <NPAlex at aol.com>
To: <SFDXA at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2005 11:13 PM
Subject: [South Florida DX Association] Re: MARS SPECTACULAR!


>
> Something to put on your calendar as noted below!
> Norm W4QN
> ==============================
>
> 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
protrudes
> 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 eas t 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