sirona86
from yahoo news:
Mars Ready for Close-Up, Best View in 60,000 Years
By Deborah Zabarenko
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mars is getting ready for its close-up, with the red planet coming as near to Earth this month as it has in almost 60,000 years.
Its closest pass will come on Aug. 27 at 5:51 a.m. EDT, when Mars will be less than 34.65 million miles away.
The last time it came nearer was around Sept. 12 in 57,617 B.C. when Mars came about 25,000 miles closer, at a distance of 34.62 million miles from Earth.
"If Neanderthals had telescopes, they would have seen it a little bit better than we will on August 27," said astronomer Geoff Chester of the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington.
To backyard observers, Mars will be the brightest natural object in the sky except for the sun and the moon, Chester said in a telephone interview. Even though it will be close, it will not look much bigger than it usually does.
"People are kind of all thinking that all you've got to do is go outside and you're going to see this big red blob that's half the size of the moon," Chester said. "That's not the case."
What people will most likely see is a brilliant pinkish object dominating the southern sky. At that point, Mars will be the brightest thing in the heavens. Venus would have shone bright if it had been visible, but it will be hidden behind the sun when Mars comes closest to Earth.
Mars will appear to be about the same size as a middling-sized crater on the moon, Chester said.
To get an idea of how big Mars will seem at its closest, the typical thumb held at arms' length covers about one degree of the sky, or 3,600 arc seconds. The moon is about half a degree of the sky, or 1,800 arc seconds. Mars at its closest will appear to be 25.11 arc seconds -- only about one more arc second than its usual 24.
Mars will get even closer to Earth on Aug. 28, 2287 -- but still not as close as it did in the Neanderthals' time
the full report is available at :
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030805/sc_nm/space_mars_dc_1
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being new to astrology and all, I was wondering if this significant event might have any astrological implications. some enligtenment would be appreciated...
Mars Ready for Close-Up, Best View in 60,000 Years
By Deborah Zabarenko
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mars is getting ready for its close-up, with the red planet coming as near to Earth this month as it has in almost 60,000 years.
Its closest pass will come on Aug. 27 at 5:51 a.m. EDT, when Mars will be less than 34.65 million miles away.
The last time it came nearer was around Sept. 12 in 57,617 B.C. when Mars came about 25,000 miles closer, at a distance of 34.62 million miles from Earth.
"If Neanderthals had telescopes, they would have seen it a little bit better than we will on August 27," said astronomer Geoff Chester of the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington.
To backyard observers, Mars will be the brightest natural object in the sky except for the sun and the moon, Chester said in a telephone interview. Even though it will be close, it will not look much bigger than it usually does.
"People are kind of all thinking that all you've got to do is go outside and you're going to see this big red blob that's half the size of the moon," Chester said. "That's not the case."
What people will most likely see is a brilliant pinkish object dominating the southern sky. At that point, Mars will be the brightest thing in the heavens. Venus would have shone bright if it had been visible, but it will be hidden behind the sun when Mars comes closest to Earth.
Mars will appear to be about the same size as a middling-sized crater on the moon, Chester said.
To get an idea of how big Mars will seem at its closest, the typical thumb held at arms' length covers about one degree of the sky, or 3,600 arc seconds. The moon is about half a degree of the sky, or 1,800 arc seconds. Mars at its closest will appear to be 25.11 arc seconds -- only about one more arc second than its usual 24.
Mars will get even closer to Earth on Aug. 28, 2287 -- but still not as close as it did in the Neanderthals' time
the full report is available at :
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030805/sc_nm/space_mars_dc_1
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being new to astrology and all, I was wondering if this significant event might have any astrological implications. some enligtenment would be appreciated...
