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You Will Never See This Again


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 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.
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 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, go check out the sky at night and watch 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 
This is CABL.com posting #264602. Tiny Link: cabl.co/mbgZW
There are 6 replies to this message
Re: You Will Never See This Again Aquaholic 8/11/2009 9:42:58 PM
Re: You Will Never See This Again 5700 8/11/2009 5:15:25 PM
You Can See This Tonight (Aug. 11) FiberSlasher 8/11/2009 4:40:25 PM
Re: You Will Never See This Again knightwind 8/10/2009 1:24:16 PM
Re: You Will Never See This Again scooterz56 8/10/2009 3:12:33 AM
Re: You Will Never See This Again Polehiker 8/9/2009 10:45:19 PM