Mars Set to Make Closest Approach to Earth in 11 Years

abc News on Yahoo ^ | 5/26/16 | Alyssa Newcomb - abc News

[NormsRevenge]

If Martians exist, they'll be closer to Earth on Memorial Day than they have been in 11 years.

This Monday, around 5:34 p.m. EDT, when many Americans may be enjoying a holiday barbecue, the Red Planet will be the closest it has been to Earth in more than a decade, coming within 46.8 million miles, according to NASA. The relatively close encounter with Earth comes a week after the Martian opposition, when Mars and the sun lined up on exact opposite sides of the Earth.

[thoughtomator]

> But plasma is not electromagnetic. It’s ionized gas.

Ions are electrically charged particles... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion

... and plasma is an excellent conductor of electricity. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_resistivity_and_conductivity#Plasma

“For many purposes, the conductivity of a plasma may be treated as infinite.”

[thoughtomator]

also plasma is not a gas, it’s a distinct form of matter different from a gas

four states of matter exist: solid, liquid, gas, and plasma

[GeorgiaDawg32]

It’s called “Droid Sky View”.

[ETL]

“Many places teach that there are three states of matter; solid, liquid and gas, but there are actually four. The fourth is plasma. To put it very simply, a plasma is an ionized gas, a gas into which sufficient energy is provided to free electrons from atoms or molecules and to allow both species, ions and electrons, to coexist.”

http://education.jlab.org/qa/plasma_01.html

[ETL]

Re: But plasma is not electromagnetic. It’s ionized gas.

Ions are electrically charged particles

I know what ions are. But they are not the carriers of electromagnetism: photons are (visible light, UV, gamma rays, infrared, photons). Cosmic rays and solar wind particles consists of ions, not photons.

[central_va]

So what.

[Red Badger]

I saw it last night. It was brightest object in sky..............

[ETL]

Because it’s particularly bright now and easy for anyone to see?

[ETL]

There are actually 3 planets visible around that time: Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

Jupiter is about halfway across the sky to the west from the other two and is bright white. It's a wee bit brighter than Mars at this time (minus 1.8 vs minus 1.9). Saturn is to the east of Mars and not nearly as bright. It's also yellowish.

Source: Sky & Telescope Magazine:
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/this-weeks-sky-at-a-glance-may-27-june-4/

[T. P. Pole]

I see that you and ETL have continued the discussion, but I thought I’d pop back here. The idea of the plasma conduit opening at eight minute intervals back to the sun is new to me. I am going to guess it is a discharge of some sort to prevent the charges from getting out of whack. Your last link was dead. Maybe it gave some more answers.

Meanwhile, I will remain skeptical that the fact of Mars being closer to the earth is influencing earthquakes and volcanoes. The distances are just way too big. Although I do like your thinking - it would have to be something rather exotic.

Thanks for the conversation.

[thoughtomator]

That phrase is technically incorrect. Plasma is not a gas. The use in that context is metaphorical.

[thoughtomator]

Check out the Electric Universe hypothesis. I find it compelling and supremely interesting... it really seems to de-mystify a lot of phenomena that are presently explained by various forms of pseudo-scientific mysticism (e.g. Big Bang, black holes, neutron stars, pulsars, dark matter/energy etc).

[SunLakesJeff]

Stunning from SE Maricopa County, AZ.