C h a z a q It means "Strength" |
Mars What got me about the following is the last statement. Who says no one will? Maybe I'm going to stick around just to prove this little forward wrong. :p Never again in your lifetime will the Red Planet be so spectacular. >This month 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 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. > > The encounter will culminate on Wednesday, August 27th 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 -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 he naked eye. Mars will be easy to spot. At the >beginning of August Mars will rise in the east at 10 p.m. and reach its >azimuth at about 3 a.m. 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 a.m. > > That's pretty convenient when it comes to seeing something >that no human 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 with your children and grandchildren. No one alive today will >ever see this again. |
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