NationStates Jolt Archive

Im not sure if this is true, but if it is...wow. This is gonna be VERY cool.
I got this in an E-mail from a relative, so any independant confirmation would be good.

MARS SPECTACULAR!

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 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.

cool. i just wish my telescope actually worked :mad:
and i hadn't thrown it away :(


i do remember hearing something like this a few years back... could this be old news, perhaps?

i do remember hearing something like this a few years back... could this be old news, perhaps?
I was about to say...did this not happen the other year?

i do remember hearing something like this a few years back... could this be old news, perhaps?

It sounds very familiar. I thought this happened last year...

That is pretty neat indeed! Looking forward to see that myself.

(Isn't that the reason why NASA is biting it's ass because the time for a mission to Mars would've been perfect with "so little" distance to cover?)

Edit: Dammit! This happened in 2003!!!

http://www.space.com/spacewatch/mars_preview_021108.html

(Isn't that the reason why NASA is biting it's ass because the time for a mission to Mars would've been perfect with "so little" distance to cover?)

Never mind the fact that the intense radiation would kill (or severely poison) our astronauts, due to the constraints of our current technology.

Never mind the fact that the intense radiation would kill (or severely poison) our astronauts, due to the constraints of our current technology.
Radiation only creates super heros like the Fantastic Four. The astronauts would be wearing their trusty tinfoil-hats against it :p

Radiation only creates super heros like the Fantastic Four. The astronauts would be wearing their trusty tinfoil-hats against it :p

Heh. That would kick ass... But, what would happen if they decided to use their new-found powers for evil?

*ponders*

That's just what I'm waiting for - there's a reason why I'm honing my mad Jedi skills for the last decades!!!

*sound of lightsaber igniting*