A little tidbit that was sent to me and I thought I would share with the outdoorsman here in the group.
Subject: Mars is a'comin'
Importance: High
Thought you might be interested in this.
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 3AM. 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'spretty convenient when it comes to seeing something that no human has seen
in recorded history.
Hope you get a chance to see it...
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Anita
Barney
Sailor
Paris
