Never Again In Your Lifetime Will The Red Planet Be So Spectacular! (August, 2003)

E-Mail | Fanny Aragno & Richard Swanson

[webber]

Never Again In Your Lifetime Will The Red Planet Be So Spectacular!

This month and next, 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.

On August 27th, Mars will come 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 the 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 friends, children and grandchildren.

No one alive today will ever see this again!

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[strela]

Sitting in my hammock with a mint julep watching the night sky BUMP!

[Judith Anne]

Bump to myself...Kids and grandkids are already checking it out each clear night...amazing that we have this opportunity...

[Judith Anne]

Just remembering the fabulous photos astronomers took of the comet crashing into Jupiter, another extremely rare event that happened just a few years ago...

[Nick Danger]

[strela]

Just remembering the fabulous photos astronomers took of the comet crashing into Jupiter, another extremely rare event that happened just a few years ago.

Shoemaker-Levy 9, if I recall correctly. The pictures made me wonder exactly what was being pummeled on Jupiter by the pieces of the comet - they seemed to disappear into the gas giant's clouds.

[Judith Anne]

The "string of pearls" as the comet broke up...there were photos of the sites after the pearls struck the opposite side, as I recall, there were dark spots left on Jupiter where they hit...

[agitator]

[scott7278]

Right now, as of 11:54pm CDT, the apparent magnitude is -2.5 with a phase of 97.1%. So we're getting pretty close as it is.

Fascinating!

[LiteKeeper]

SPOTREP

[farmfriend]

ping

[Brett66]

I guess it's time I broke the telescope out. I looked at it the other night with 8x56 binoculors and it resolved a disk. I can probably make out the ice caps with my 4.5" Newtonian.

[Drew68]

So mark your calendar at the beginning of August to see Mars grow progressively brighter and brighter throughout the month.

I gazed upon Mars last night from the porch of my home in the Rocky Mountains where there are no city lights.

I couldn't believe how bright (and orange) it was. Pretty cool!

[RadioAstronomer]

Thanks for the ping. I am looking forward to this :-)

[BenLurkin]

If only we could get this close a look . . .

[scott7278]

Uranus is also in the same vicinity as Mars, only with an apparent magnitude of +5.7 (the faintest naked eye star is +6.5). Neptune is close by, too, but with an apparent magnitude of +7.8 it can't be seen with the naked eye.

FWIW.

[frodolives]

2287- that ain't so long. Isn't anyone else planning to stick around that long?

I saw Mars out camping last week, in the heart of the Idaho outdoors- incredibly bright and beautiful. Well worth waking up the kids to see this.

[yianni]

Are you 9 alf CMa?

[scott7278]

I'm totally "Sirius." LOL!

[scott7278]

But if I don't go to bed soon I'm going to be a "NGC 650" tomorrow morning. Good night!