John & Karen Buxcel

This looks amazing!
Wanted to share,
Karen
http://www.thewildtribe.blogspot.com



>> Mars: The Red Planet is about to be spectacular!
>>
>>
>>
>> This month the 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 10 p.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 12:30 a.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
>>

Michelle/Melbrigða

On 7/23/06, John & Karen Buxcel <buxcel@...> wrote:
> >> This month the Earth is catching up with Mars in an encounter that
> >> will culminate in the closest approach between the two planets in
> >> recorded history.

You are about 3 years too late. This happened back in 2003. We went
to the beach with our telescope and had a wonderful view of Mars.
There are some spectacular things going on in the sky such as the
grand showing of the Seven Sisters and we are entering meteor
(shooting star) season. You can find out tons of information about
what is happening in the heavens by going to http://www.earthsky.com

--
Michelle
aka Melbrigða
http://eventualknitting.blogspot.com
[email protected] - Homeschooling for the Medieval Recreationist