See Mars :)

Just sharing the wealth


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 will be 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.


The encounter will culminate on Aug. 27 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 minus 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 PM and reach its azimuth at about 3 AM. 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 AM. 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 this
news...no one alive today will ever see this again.
(See Discover Magazine, Aug 2003.)