Post by Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe on Jun 17, 2005 8:35:25 GMT -6
Mars NOT making it's closest Approach this fall...
I have received a couple of emails regarding this false information and seen this propagate over the internet recently.
Mars will not appear as big as the Moon, nor will it be a spectacular sight in the night sky this fall.
This is what is going around...
"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."
This is in direct referrence to the close approach of Mars during the spring of 2003...and even the points mentioned were in error.
Now, Mars will make another close pass of Earth this fall, but nowhere near the event of 2003. If Mars ever did appear as big as the full Moon, then...
"Houston, we got a problem"...