Culmination of Mars
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Written by airman   
Thursday, 04 June 2009

Something to look forward to this summer.

Mars



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 10 pm and reach its azimuth at about 3 am.

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'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


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Written by felix on 09-02-2009 21:31
 
 
I saw it, today!
I was working late today. About 7:40PM, as I was walking out the door, saw this big reddish full moon. What beautiful moon, I thought. As I drove off, a minute later, I saw that moon again and this time it was whitish. Thought to myself, "that's strange, the color of the moon changed". Then it hit me! I remember reading an email about "Culmination of Mars" . 
 
I got excited, started looking at all directions in to the darkening sky, as I drove. Then there it was! A huge, beautiful reddish Mars for brief seconds. With an excitement, I started to call my parents, wife, brother, and sister, to let them all know about the Mars in the night sky. 
 
After I got home, my wife asked if it wasn't the Sun setting? I swore to her that it was the Mars. Few minutes later, I sat down and searched on Internet for the "Culmination of Mars". All searches were disappointing, no such event, as described in the email, will occur any time soon... 
 
I was so excited! Called all my family members! And now I feel soooo silly... 
 
Whoever sent me this email, was it a cruel joke? Or was it an attempt to get my family closer? In either case, it worked on me! How gullible, I am...  
:roll
  

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