SlipLive

FYI.....Someone emailed me this and I tought I would pass it on...

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.


By August 27, 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.

didn't this just happen 2 summers ago? i remember running around berkfest '03 yelling "ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our special guest MARS!!!!"

tim wrote:i remember running around berkfest '03 yelling "ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our special guest MARS!!!!"

::ahem:: Just because you believed it, doesn't make it so. You, uh, *were* at a festival.....I won't speculate on the exact details of what that means, but the last festival I was at you could have told me I was Mars, and I would have believed you.

etahn wrote:::ahem:: Just because you believed it, doesn't make it so. You, uh, *were* at a festival.....I won't speculate on the exact details of what that means, but the last festival I was at you could have told me I was Mars, and I would have believed you.

and the winner for best post of july goes to etahn.

Awesome man ...lol

By August 27, Mars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye.

No way, Jose. 35 million miles is definitely relatively close (for Mars), but not for the moon (only a mere .25 million miles). Mars will still be for most purposes just a bright red dot, a bit brigher than Venus in the night sky.

http://urbanlegends.about.com/b/a/175663.htm

This is a recycled email being spammed around. Many of these are harmless, but about 10% are delivery mechanisms for viruses, worms and trojan horses. Do not circulate these...just delete them.

More info on Internet Hoaxes can be found at CIAC.org.

-Phrazz

LOL insert foot now.

Thats what I get for not trying to find a source.

If someone could delete this thread.....

damn i thought it was true.. i just bought my acme one man rocket ship

I think last summer, or 2003 (whenever the festival dude announced the planet) it was probably Venus. He probably couldn't remember but knew it was 50/50 either Venus or Mars for sure. Great quote, though, i know i've felt like mars before, or at least a mars bar.... on the back of the worm

waitasec... no, i think that was mars back in 2003.. i remember cuz it was that same weekend and i was at the evolve festival sitting on this little hill type thing with a dude from boston who's name i forget (dave maybe?), but he said he had a band in the area (death plunger something or other? i dunno.), and i remember that thing hanging out there by the crescent moon.. pretty sure it was only a reddish dot, a larger than average dot, no doubt, but a dot nonetheless... anyways, that was mars for sure. well, it was in nova scotia anyways.

fuck... that was me... ^^^^^

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