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Old 24-06-2005, 10:26 AM
SyntaxTerror
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First time poster! :O

Hi guys, not much of an astronomy nut myself, but came across an interesting bit of information on another site which really interested me.

I had a quick search of the forums and couldn't really find any information on it, but apologies anyway if this is common knowledge.

Could anyone tell me if we'll be able to see much here in Australia when it happens. Sounds like a pretty amazing event.

Quote:
Be sure to mark your calendars.....

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.
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Old 24-06-2005, 10:43 AM
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[1ponders] (Paul)
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Hi Syntax. And

Yep that's been getting around for a while now. Unfortunately its two years out of date. Also if mars looked as large as a full moon, even then I'd be starting to really worry about what's happening to the planetary orbits
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Old 24-06-2005, 11:02 AM
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Orion
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Quote:
Originally Posted by [1ponders]

Yep that's been getting around for a while now. Unfortunately its two years out of date. Also if mars looked as large as a full moon, even then I'd be starting to really worry about what's happening to the planetary orbits
I said to myself how can it be the closest it has ever been didn't we go through this a couple of years ago? I just finish looking it up on Starry Night sure enough it did happen a couple of years ago.

Hi Syntax. And
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Old 24-06-2005, 11:11 AM
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cometcatcher (Kevin)
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Syntax Terror, Mars does a semi close approach every 2 years roughly. This time closest is around the end of October with a size of about 20 arc seconds compared to the last approach of about 25 arc seconds. Every 15 years there's a very close approach that will reach to around 25 arc seconds again.

Usually the media circus get hold of some info and blow it out of all proportion when really these things happen all the time.

Jupiter and Saturn are almost always larger than Mars anyhow so there's always something to look at.
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Old 24-06-2005, 12:17 PM
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ving (David)
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shame its not till er... 2 years ago

still I want to catch mars later this year tho. should be close enuff to catch some detail
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Old 24-06-2005, 04:13 PM
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cometcatcher (Kevin)
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Unless there are dust storms...
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Old 24-06-2005, 08:05 PM
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acropolite (Phil)
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SyntaxTerror wrote
Quote:
Hi guys, not much of an astronomy nut myself
You're already on your way to becoming one.... Welcome to the nuthouse....:p
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Old 27-06-2005, 06:43 AM
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iceman (Mike)
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Hey Ian, nice to see you here. SyntaxTerror is another ex-clan mate from the online gaming days.

Imagine Mars the size of the full moon! I'm sure there was lots of hysteria back then with the Mars opposition.. I was only partially into astronomy at that stage, but the interest was growing.. every morning when I'd hop in the car to go to work, I'd watch Mars get brighter in the morning sky.
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