27th OF AUGUST 2003
MARS WILL APPEAR AS BIG AS THE MOON!
FIRST TIME IN AT LEAST 5,000 YEARS!
Never again in your lifetime will the Red Planet be so
spectacular!
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.
On August 27, Mars will come 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 the 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.
Share with your friends, children and grandchildren. No one alive
today will ever see this again! Enjoy this Spectacular
Moment!!!
Blessed Be,
Oceanos
