Mars Spectacular

[Unknown User]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 2:22pm

I LOVE stuff like this - thanks, Beav

[Mother's Younger Brother]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 2:23pm

Totally cool -- thanks for this!

[Thenardier]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 2:24pm

yeah, I'm a total astronomy nerd...I can't wait!

[Unknown User]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 2:24pm

I'm game - maybe we should move the picnic to after dark?

[Broadwayboobs]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 2:25pm

When will Uranus be close to earth?

[Unknown User]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 2:42pm

Whenever you back that ass up.

[Bluemoon]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 4:10pm

I hate to break it to you, but this phenomenon already happened. I got an email with this story LAST summer and looked on the designated days for a sky show that never occurred. I went to www.snopes.com - my favorite urban legend site - and found the following:

Mars' extraordinarily close approach to Earth culminated on 27 August 2003, when the red planet came within 35 million miles (or 56 million kilometers) of Earth, its nearest approach to us in almost 60,000 years. At that time, Mars appeared approximately 6 times larger and 85 times brighter in the sky than it does ordinarily.

The Mars phenomenon was featured in a couple of articles on the web site Space.com which are still well worth the reading: Mars to Get Closer than Ever in Recorded History in 2003 and Orbital Oddities: Why Mars will be So Close to Earth in August. Interested observers also joined Mars Watch 2003 through the MarsToday.com web site.

Although Mars' proximity to Earth in August 2003 (referred to as a perihelic opposition) was a rare occurrence, the red planet comes almost as near to us every 15 to 17 years. To the unaided observer, Mars appearance in August 2003 wasn't significantly larger or brighter than it is during those much more common intervals of closeness.

Apparently, this email goes around every summer. Sorry.
Updated On: 6/9/05 at 04:10 PM

[Unknown User]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 4:15pm

party pooper.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 4:28pm

Bluemoon, I am just grateful we will meet before we all DIE in the collision!!!

[Bluemoon]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 4:30pm

Rath, why aren't you down in some subway station singing your heart out? Money, woman. The name of the game is money.

[Bluemoon]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 4:34pm

^^^ Rath's back up band, "Mars Spectacular"

[Thenardier]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 4:35pm

D'OH!

It did seem a little strange.....