Just an FYI, that information is from 2003.

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Joel Flewelling
Natural Resource Account Manager
Ghostwriters Communications
PO Box 196
Poultney, VT 05764
(802) 287-4284 (802) 287-4285 fax
www.gwriters.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Barbara Powers" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 21, 2005 10:30 AM
Subject: [VTBIRD] FW: MARS IN AUGUST


> I know this isn't bird related but thought it would be of interest when
you
> are outside listening for the whip-poor-wills, etc.
> Barbara Powers
>
> >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 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 family and friends as no one
> >alive today will ever see
> >this again