Is this true?

[Ronny]

I've gotten this email from about 5 different people. Does anyone know if it's true?

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 By
August 27, 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.

NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN

 

[mehastings]

It's not. Here's what Snopes has to say.

 

[Ronny]

good to know, I didn't want to be standing outside all night looking for something that wasn't there

 

[Ronny]

I had forgotten about snopes, I used to like looking around there alot.

 

[SFG75]

good to know, I didn't want to be standing outside all night looking for something that wasn't there

Yeah, but the e-mail from some guy claiming to be the son of a deposed dictator who needs a sum of money before he can repay you handsomely is true.

 

[Irene Wilde]

I've gotten this email from about 5 different people. Does anyone know if it's true?

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 By
August 27, 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.

NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN

This was true, you got the e-mail a couple of years too late. It happened in August of 2003. It was spectacular! With just a backyard telescope, people could look out and see the Red Planet and really tell that, indeed, it is red! And it is a planet, not just a bright light in the night sky. It was a humbling, stunning, breath-taking experience, especially since I was able to share it with my little girl.

A quick post-script -- if you are still interesting in seeing something very cool in the night sky, next Friday, August 12, the Perseid meteor shower will be visible with the naked eye (local reports in the Western US say to look eastward after midnight for the best view -- your local observatory could probably provide you information for your area).

 

[Ronny]

Thanks for the info Irene, I will look into that. I bought my son a telescope for christmas and we love going out and looking through it, I was really hoping the Mars email would be true, but thought it may not be since I heard nothing about it elsewhere.

 

[mehastings]

A quick post-script -- if you are still interesting in seeing something very cool in the night sky, next Friday, August 12, the Perseid meteor shower will be visible with the naked eye (local reports in the Western US say to look eastward after midnight for the best view -- your local observatory could probably provide you information for your area).

If you can manage to stay up really late you're in for a great show. I've seen it twice at about 4AM and it's really great. The first time I was driving down a dark highway with the meteors coming over the horizon toward me. It's really worth staying up for.