C h a z a q
It means "Strength"

Mars
2003-08-04 | 12:33 p.m.

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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