2006-08-04 16:51:08 · 22 answers · asked by bam b 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
this month??? in the August skies???? Hmmmmm -
Sounds repetitive, but I'll check my Almanac and see, and see.
2006-08-04 16:54:00 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
The Red Planet is about to be spectacular!
This month & next, Earth is catching up with Mars in an encounter that
will culminate in the closest approach between the two planets in
recorded history. 2287 is the next time this may happen.
Due to the way Jupiter's gravity tugs on MArs & perturbs its orbit,
astronomers can only be certain that Mars has not copme this close to
Earth in thje last 5000 years, but it may be 60,000 years before it happens
again.
The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes within
34,649,589 miles of Earth and will ne (next to the moon) the brightest
object in the night sky.
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. It
will be something that no human geing 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 friends, children, etc. Please do notify the camp
where your child is this summer. No person alive will ever see this
again.
2006-08-07 12:32:21 · answer #2 · answered by Chris R 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Yes...Here's what I have found:
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
(Someone let me know if this is old news, as I haven't checked it out with snopes yet).
2006-08-04 16:55:12 · answer #3 · answered by Lu 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
If you know where to look you can see mars with the naked eye but it will appear as a very faint reddish star. Viewing it with a telescope will improve your ability to see the planet. Contrary to any rum ours that are being circulated, Mars will never appear to be as big as the moon when viewed from Earth.
Giving in to account of Mars' eccentric orbit, the distance from Earth varies from 36 million miles (nearest planet after Venus) to over 250 million miles. Proportionately, this six-fold distance variation is the greatest of any planet.So even at it's closest, Mars will look smaller than Venus.
The moon is 238,855 miles from the Earth.
2006-08-04 22:20:06 · answer #4 · answered by Tim C 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
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
2006-08-04 16:57:54 · answer #5 · answered by ••Mott•• 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
You can see Mars in many months-- it is fairly common---The myth
people are refering to is that Mars will be its closest to earth this month in many many years...problem is that notice was posted by NASA in 2003...(in which year it was true) so you are too late----and in fact the story has really circulated for years...which is almost more incredible than seeing Mars...since I am interested in such things I have friends send me that "report" every year....saying "Oh I know this will really be of interest especially to you"...It's nice of them to send it...I get quite a chuckle out of it and will next year too.
2006-08-04 17:03:50 · answer #6 · answered by Pat 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
If you want to see mars close up go to www.google.com/mars now that is interesting click the infared button on the right side.
2006-08-04 16:56:06 · answer #7 · answered by newpastorofgod 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
yea! august 23rd about 12:30 am...its going to be really cool...mars is going to be as big as the moon. its gonna look like we have two moons....this wont happen again for another couple of hundreds of years...so catch it before its gone!
2006-08-04 16:55:46 · answer #8 · answered by whutup387 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Yes...that's what i heard...They say that anyone that is alive today to see it will never see with the naked eye again in thier life time. Nope...I just checked it out too on snopes.com
http://www.snopes.com/science/mars.asp
Oh well...would've been cool though
2006-08-04 16:54:55 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
You won't able too see Mars that way? unless if you have a telescope. LOL!
2006-08-04 16:54:40 · answer #10 · answered by Awesome 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
No, that was true in August 2003 not now. Go to www.snopes.com for more details.
2006-08-04 16:54:14 · answer #11 · answered by EPnTX 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋