Is this right?

blade · July 22, 2005

:lol6 anyone else hear of this?

MARS SPECTACULAR!═ Mark your calendars!
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 nek!d 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.