Posted by Hugh Nations Signing Agents of Austin on 7/22/06 2:24am
Msg #134633

Mars

The Red Planet [Note to TitleGal: Don't get your stepins all bunched up; there's no political subtext here. It really is called the Red Planet. And I have drawn no conclusions whatsover from the fact that Earth, by far the most habitable of the two, is perceived as blue from space] 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 27 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 p.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 12:30 a.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.

Share this with your children and grandchildren.

No one alive today will see this happen again.

Reply by Pamela on 7/22/06 2:32am
Msg #134635

Hugh!

Thanks for the information and Yes, it will be a sight!
However, I beg to differ with your last line ("smile"!


Pam

Reply by Harry [NR] on 7/22/06 2:37am
Msg #134637

Re: Mars (sort of a hoax)

This message is circulated every year and, while there is a small amount of validity to the nearness of Mars, is has been very sensationalized according to those in-the-know.

http://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/hoaxes/hoaxDetails.asp?HName=The+Red+Planet+is+about+to+be+spectacular!&Page=10

http://www.snopes.com/science/mars.asp

Reply by TitleGalCA on 7/22/06 7:53am
Msg #134645

Well, it's nice to know you thought of me first =) n/m

Reply by MichiganAl on 7/22/06 8:02am
Msg #134650

Not only OT, but false

http://www.snopes.com/science/mars.asp

Reply by TitleGalCA on 7/22/06 8:03am
Msg #134652

Al, I LUV snopes. n/m

Reply by Hugh Nations Signing Agents of Austin on 7/22/06 12:16pm
Msg #134694

My apologies: Re: Al, I LUV snopes

Twice this week I have gone to Snopes and forwarded information there to people who have circulated Internet falsehoods. I have done so with a smug sense of superiority, secure in the knowledge that I let no wool be pulled over my eyelids. I am chagrinned, embarrassed, humiliated, chastened, and just in general bummed out that I got stung.

The only excuse I have is that it was 3 a.m., and I was still abuzz over my dancing companion from earlier in the evening, a platinum blonde with Velcro hips which couldn't seem to detach themselves from mine out on the dance floor. When a guy reaches three score and ten, the Argentine tango should come with a warning from the Surgeon-General.

I offer the following to make up for my indiscetion:

VAN GOGH'S FAMILY TREE

His dizzy aunt ------------------------------------ Verti Gogh
The brother who ate prunes ------------------------- Gotta Gogh
The brother who worked at a convenience store ------Stop n Gogh
The grandfather from Yugoslavia -------------------------U Gogh
The cousin from Illinois ---------------------------- Chica Gogh
His magician uncle ---------------------------Where-diddy Gogh
His Mexican cousin ------------------------------- A mee Gogh
The Mexican cousin's American half-brother ---------- Gring Gogh
The nephew who drove a stage coach--------------Wells-far Gogh
The ballroom dancing aunt --------------------------- Tang Gogh!
The bird lover uncle -------------------------------Flamin Gogh
His nephew psychoanalyst ------------------------------ E Gogh
The fruit loving cousin -------------------------------Man Gogh
An aunt who taught positive thinking ---------------- Way-to Gogh
The little bouncy nephew ----------------------------- Poe Gogh
A sister who loved disco ------------------------------ Go Gogh
And his niece who travels the country in a van ------Winnie Bay Gogh

Well, there you Gogh

Reply by TitleGalCA on 7/22/06 12:39pm
Msg #134699

Re: My apologies: Re: Al, I LUV snopes

Hugh, I have done exactly the same, de-bunking internet emails that take on a life of their own.

The funny part is, I found no one wanted to know that the email they forwarded to a hundred or so of their friends and co-workers was false. It made them feel good to participate in helping someone... "if you forward to 10 of your friends, this email will send money to little Johnny who's dying of cancer and...."

So, now, I no longer de-bunk. I just check it out on snopes and hit the delete button.