Posted on 10/25/2005 7:54:52 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
PARIS (AFP) - The last time Mars swung so close to Earth, Hindu seers foretold of war, European astrologers predicted love and Germany reported a rash in UFO sightings.
Thus is the spell cast by planetary alignment, so extreme predictions and odd events seem entirely possible this week as Mars and Earth edge together once more.
On Sunday, October 30, the Red Planet will be 69.4 million kilometers (43.1 million miles) from Earth -- a distance that in galactic terms is less than wafer-thin and will not be equalled until 2018.
Skywatchers are rubbing their hands at the opportunity.
In the runup to Sunday, but also for much of November, Mars will appear as a big orangey-yellow "star" in the east, an object so bright that it should be visible in almost any conditions of light pollution, says the US publication Sky & Telescope.
Weather permitting -- on Earth and also on Mars, where there are some worrying signs of an impending dust storm -- anyone with a modest telescope should be able to pick out some of the features that make Mars so special.
According to the French magazine Ciel et Espace, anyone who invests in a small 60mm (two-inch) -diameter telescope, priced in many countries at around 150 euros (180 dollars), should be easily able to spot Syrtis Major, Mars' most recognisable characteristic.
This vast region of cratered plateaux appears as a dark, roughly triangular-shaped tongue whose point heads towards Mars' North Pole.
They should also be able to make out Helas, a vast impact crater that is often covered by whitish mist and is sometimes mistaken for Mars' southern polar icecap.
Invest a couple of thousand euros (dollars) or more to get a telescope with a diametre of 200mm (eight inches) or more -- or go to your nearest observatory or visit an astronomy website -- and some really hunky stuff comes into view.
For size, nothing beats Mons Olympus, 26,000 metres (84,500 feet) high -- the biggest volcano in the Solar System. And Arizona's Grand Canyon would fit snugly inside Valles Marineris -- seven kms (four miles) deep and 200 kms (120 miles) across.
Mars' southern pole, seasonally shrunk by summer heat, will appear as a brilliant white dot. And with luck, one night you may bag Mars' tiny moons, Phobos and Deimos, which once were asteroids until they were captured by the Martian gravity.
On August 27, 2003, Earth and Mars were a mere 55.76 million kms (34.65 million miles) apart, the closest in almost 60,000 years.
This time, the planets are slight farther apart, but the viewing prospects are better than in 2003, says the Institute of Celestial Mechanics at the Paris Observatory.
This is because, in 2003, Mars' course barely took it above the horizon for viewers in Earth's northern hemisphere, which meant the image was distorted by light passing through the atmosphere.
Earth, the third planet from the Sun, takes 365 and a quarter days to go around its star. Mars, the fourth planet, takes 687 Earth Days.
That means they come close every 26 months or so. But both planets take a slightly elliptical path around the Sun, and this factor determines precisely how close the flyby will be.
The next time the planets will be closer than in 2003 will be in 2287.
This image captured by NASA's Earth-orbiting Hubble Space Telescope shows Mars when it was approximately 43 million miles (68 million km) from Earth. On Sunday, October 30, the Red Planet will be 69.4 million kilometers (43.1 million miles) from Earth -- a distance that in galactic terms is less than wafer-thin and will not be equalled until 2018.(AFP/NASA/File)
The next time the planets will be closer than in 2003 will be in 2287.
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2287 .. Wow
A photograph made from composite images taken by the Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera shows the Syrtis Major face of planet Mars released by NASA on October 19, 2005. The composite image was made over the period of one Mars year, which is nearly twice as long as an Earth year. NO SALES NO ARCHIVES REUTERS/NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems/Handout
It looks like Rove is using his "powers" to bring Mars very close to Earth to distract from Fitzgerald's announcement.
We're doomed!
"heh heh heh . . . Mars is now in my clutches."
I'll watch it next time.
The sky's falling. The sky's falling.
"Nice planet. We'll take it!"
Wow. Those 'foreseers' really went out on a limb. After all, it's very rare in human history when people engage in war or love.
This is a 2 year old story. The close pass of Mars happened in 2003.
Not so. This sunday's closest approach "won't be equalled until 2018," which means it's not talking about the close approach of 2003, which won't be equalled until 2287.
Thank you.
People are just plain stupid....no other description.
LVM
> Mars will appear as a big orangey-yellow "star" in the east, an object so bright that it should be visible in almost any conditions of light pollution, says the US publication Sky & Telescope.
Saw it about two hours ago. And Venus was bright in the west, as it is so often.
This is a 2 year old story.
The close pass of Mars happened in 2003.
Thank you.
People are just plain stupid....no other description.
LVM
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Yeah , just plain stupid,, and I probably posted a Mars thread just like it in 2003 ,, It's AFP, for criminy sake.
What's 9 million miles anyway? ;-)
plus without threads, where do I post the Mars photos.. :-p
My take was the alignment explains the press orgy of excitment that maybe just maybe this trumped up scandal could result in someone in the Bush administration at least getting a parking ticket.
But now that you mention it maybe Rove has souped up the Weathertron to control not just hurricanes but the planets themselves.
I noticed Mars in the night sky a few nights ago. It didn't look a mile more than 42 million miles away.
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