Earth and Mars
Ren Allen
Yes Deb, it would be pretty catastrophic if Mars were that close. I
went and read at the NASA site some more, it's pretty interesting.
Apparently, this close encounter will look pretty much the same as it
did in '03, to the naked eye:
Here are the facts: Earth and Mars are converging for a close
encounter this year on October 30th at 0319 Universal Time. Distance:
69 million kilometers. To the unaided eye, Mars will look like a
bright red star, a pinprick of light, certainly not as wide as the
full Moon.
Disappointed? Don't be. If Mars did come close enough to rival the
Moon, its gravity would alter Earth's orbit and raise terrible tides.
Sixty-nine million km is good. At that distance, Mars shines brighter
than anything else in the sky except the Sun, the Moon and Venus. The
visual magnitude of Mars on Oct. 30, 2005, will be -2.3. Even
inattentive sky watchers will notice it, rising at sundown and soaring
overhead at midnight.
You might remember another encounter with Mars, about two years ago,
on August 27, 2003. That was the closest in recorded history, by a
whisker, and millions of people watched as the distance between Mars
and Earth shrunk to 56 million km. This October's encounter, at 69
million km, is similar. To casual observers, Mars will seem about as
bright and beautiful in 2005 as it was in 2003.
Although closest approach is still months away, Mars is already
conspicuous in the early morning. Before the sun comes up, it's the
brightest object in the eastern sky, really eye-catching. If you have
a telescope, even a small one, point it at Mars. You can see the
bright icy South Polar Cap and strange dark markings on the planet's
surface.
went and read at the NASA site some more, it's pretty interesting.
Apparently, this close encounter will look pretty much the same as it
did in '03, to the naked eye:
Here are the facts: Earth and Mars are converging for a close
encounter this year on October 30th at 0319 Universal Time. Distance:
69 million kilometers. To the unaided eye, Mars will look like a
bright red star, a pinprick of light, certainly not as wide as the
full Moon.
Disappointed? Don't be. If Mars did come close enough to rival the
Moon, its gravity would alter Earth's orbit and raise terrible tides.
Sixty-nine million km is good. At that distance, Mars shines brighter
than anything else in the sky except the Sun, the Moon and Venus. The
visual magnitude of Mars on Oct. 30, 2005, will be -2.3. Even
inattentive sky watchers will notice it, rising at sundown and soaring
overhead at midnight.
You might remember another encounter with Mars, about two years ago,
on August 27, 2003. That was the closest in recorded history, by a
whisker, and millions of people watched as the distance between Mars
and Earth shrunk to 56 million km. This October's encounter, at 69
million km, is similar. To casual observers, Mars will seem about as
bright and beautiful in 2005 as it was in 2003.
Although closest approach is still months away, Mars is already
conspicuous in the early morning. Before the sun comes up, it's the
brightest object in the eastern sky, really eye-catching. If you have
a telescope, even a small one, point it at Mars. You can see the
bright icy South Polar Cap and strange dark markings on the planet's
surface.
tixx_freak
Check the page again - they're talking about Oct. 30th, *2005*
Unless you're planning on hopping in the DeLorean with Dr. Brown, I'd
say you're a little late.
Even so, Mars at its maximum visual magnitude is only about half as
bright as Venus at its peak, and about 1/6th the brightness of the
moon. Note also that magnitude does not equal size, only apparent
brightness.
Brian
Cleveland
--- In [email protected], "Ren Allen"
<starsuncloud@...> wrote:
Unless you're planning on hopping in the DeLorean with Dr. Brown, I'd
say you're a little late.
Even so, Mars at its maximum visual magnitude is only about half as
bright as Venus at its peak, and about 1/6th the brightness of the
moon. Note also that magnitude does not equal size, only apparent
brightness.
Brian
Cleveland
--- In [email protected], "Ren Allen"
<starsuncloud@...> wrote:
>
> Yes Deb, it would be pretty catastrophic if Mars were that close. I
> went and read at the NASA site some more, it's pretty interesting.
> Apparently, this close encounter will look pretty much the same as it
> did in '03, to the naked eye:
>
> Here are the facts: Earth and Mars are converging for a close
> encounter this year on October 30th at 0319 Universal Time. Distance:
> 69 million kilometers. To the unaided eye, Mars will look like a
> bright red star, a pinprick of light, certainly not as wide as the
> full Moon.
>
> Disappointed? Don't be. If Mars did come close enough to rival the
> Moon, its gravity would alter Earth's orbit and raise terrible tides.
>
> Sixty-nine million km is good. At that distance, Mars shines brighter
> than anything else in the sky except the Sun, the Moon and Venus. The
> visual magnitude of Mars on Oct. 30, 2005, will be -2.3. Even
> inattentive sky watchers will notice it, rising at sundown and soaring
> overhead at midnight.
>
> You might remember another encounter with Mars, about two years ago,
> on August 27, 2003. That was the closest in recorded history, by a
> whisker, and millions of people watched as the distance between Mars
> and Earth shrunk to 56 million km. This October's encounter, at 69
> million km, is similar. To casual observers, Mars will seem about as
> bright and beautiful in 2005 as it was in 2003.
>
> Although closest approach is still months away, Mars is already
> conspicuous in the early morning. Before the sun comes up, it's the
> brightest object in the eastern sky, really eye-catching. If you have
> a telescope, even a small one, point it at Mars. You can see the
> bright icy South Polar Cap and strange dark markings on the planet's
> surface.
>