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Jun. 14th, 2005 11:37 amI was visiting the parents over the weekend. It was not a bad visit, I suppose, and I'll probably write it up later. But for now, something needs to be nipped in the bud. I've gotten the 'Mars Spectacular' email a couple of times:
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 10 pm and reach its azimuth at about 3 am.
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 am. 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. NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN.
...and before you get it and forward it far and wide, here's a few things you should know. The text is mostly a rehash of the Mars opposition that occurred in 2003. There's a Mars opposition every 2 years or so, and this one's happening in October and November (exact date- November 7th). The planet isn't going to be especially close to Earth. Even at it's closest in 2003, it appears as it always appears at opposition- like a bright red star. The wording makes it seem like Mars will be the size of the Full Moon. Mars cannot ever, ever appear the size of the Full Moon to the naked eye. I mean think about it; the Moon's 240,000 miles away, and Mars is 35 million miles away. And it's not that big a planet, less than twice the size of the Moon. What it's actually saying is that it will appear as big as the Full Moon if you look at it with a powerful enough telescope, which really isn't saying anything.
Snopes talks about it here; Sky and Telescope snarks about it here. They describe the actual opposition thusly: " Mars will be closest to Earth on October 30th and at opposition (the point when a planet is directly opposite the Sun as seen from Earth) on November 7th. It will not appear as bright — or as large in a telescope — as it did during its 2003 opposition, but it’ll certainly be a red beacon in a constellation that’s otherwise devoid of bright objects."
Science and astronomy in particular (to me) are fascinating as is, and it is somewhat irksome that whoever started this going around thinks no one will be interested unless it's EXTREEEEME! It't the biggest, the brightest, the most powerful, the most whateverest in x years, where x is usually longer than the average human lifetime, so GO LOOK NOW OR YOU WILL MISS IT!!!! They're going to give everyone wonder-fatigue. Heck, I'm impressed by shit that I saw last week, it doesn't have to happen once every 5000 years to be amazing.
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 10 pm and reach its azimuth at about 3 am.
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 am. 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. NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN.
...and before you get it and forward it far and wide, here's a few things you should know. The text is mostly a rehash of the Mars opposition that occurred in 2003. There's a Mars opposition every 2 years or so, and this one's happening in October and November (exact date- November 7th). The planet isn't going to be especially close to Earth. Even at it's closest in 2003, it appears as it always appears at opposition- like a bright red star. The wording makes it seem like Mars will be the size of the Full Moon. Mars cannot ever, ever appear the size of the Full Moon to the naked eye. I mean think about it; the Moon's 240,000 miles away, and Mars is 35 million miles away. And it's not that big a planet, less than twice the size of the Moon. What it's actually saying is that it will appear as big as the Full Moon if you look at it with a powerful enough telescope, which really isn't saying anything.
Snopes talks about it here; Sky and Telescope snarks about it here. They describe the actual opposition thusly: " Mars will be closest to Earth on October 30th and at opposition (the point when a planet is directly opposite the Sun as seen from Earth) on November 7th. It will not appear as bright — or as large in a telescope — as it did during its 2003 opposition, but it’ll certainly be a red beacon in a constellation that’s otherwise devoid of bright objects."
Science and astronomy in particular (to me) are fascinating as is, and it is somewhat irksome that whoever started this going around thinks no one will be interested unless it's EXTREEEEME! It't the biggest, the brightest, the most powerful, the most whateverest in x years, where x is usually longer than the average human lifetime, so GO LOOK NOW OR YOU WILL MISS IT!!!! They're going to give everyone wonder-fatigue. Heck, I'm impressed by shit that I saw last week, it doesn't have to happen once every 5000 years to be amazing.
