Mars

Poststructural Pub
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Mars


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, 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



raven

2

more here, here and here

3

aw gee I am so bummed out now! :cry:

4

but was it fun while it lasted?

5

Was that 2003? By the Cringe, I feel old. It seems like yesterday. Beware emails without dates. (and don’t cash their checks, cheques or czechs.)

Wasn’t California supposed to fall into the sea, or something? Did it happen? Did anyone notice?

6

I’m still waiting for the Harmonic Convergence. I can safely say it hasn’t come to pass. Just look at sessions. :smiling_imp:

7

Wasn’t California supposed to fall into the sea, or something? Did it happen? Did anyone notice?

Well my sister lives in CA and she is still living on land. Actually an Island but still…
raven

8

The Harmonica Convergence… any body inform Steve about it yet? :laughing:

9

Oh, that. That’s Steve’s own nest of bees. I’m just waiting for the flutes to get in tune, if you follow. At least free reeds are pretty reliable that way.

10

This is my favorite part. Because of this line break, which I still
think was intentional, there was no end to Revelations-style “Moon
turning to blood” talk. I think that’s the only reason this email makes
the rounds every July since 2003.

11

How dare they!!! :angry: Those bloody Reds have some cheek. Surely this is sufficient grounds to go to war!!! :swear:

djm

12

I’m bummed out too! It sounded like I wouldn’t have to get up really early in the morning or stay up too late at night to see Mars be the same size as the moon. I was just pondering how truly strange and even scary that was going to be, and could I really be reading that right, when my eye caught the posts below :laughing: !