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CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH MARS
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.
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 25.11arc
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 children and grandchildren. No one alive today will ever
see this
again.
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