Astronomy chance of a lifetime!!

[Geoffrey20005]

For all of those out there that are interested, there is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to view Mars, coming up in August. If I find the actual-factual report, Ill post it here, but pretty much the Layman report is that, due to a gravitational pull by another planet, Mars is going to be the closest to earth it has been in years, and the closest it will probably be until the year 2265 (if the planets align correctly again by then). It is already getting closer and closer, but the best time to view it will be in August, towards the beginning of the month. To get the easy-to-find maps you have always been looking for, go to www.heavens-above.com (http://www.heavens-above.com) , create a profile, and then you can generate a map of your night-time sky for any time you wish to star-gaze. It also lists the planets, so you will be able to find where Mars will be. (also a lot of interesting things on Iridium flares, which are a lot of fun to view. I can explain more about them if anyone is interested)

Make sure to go out and view Mars, even if this is your first astronomical step! It will be a magnitude -2.4, which can easily be viewed with the naked eye.

-Geoffrey

[DoctorDoom]

Y'all might want to check the date on the article.

On Aug. 28, 2003, Mars will be at "opposition," the moment when the Sun, Earth and Mars will form a straight line; since we are closer to the Sun than Mars, this is also when we are overtaking Mars in our respective orbits [graphic].

Mars comes to opposition about every 26 months. But because of the elliptical orbits of Earth and Mars, not all oppositions are created equal. The 2003 opposition will be superior to all the others because Mars will be very near to its closest point to the Sun, called perihelion, when it arrives at opposition.Mars to Get Closer than Ever in Recorded History in 2003 (http://www.space.com/spacewatch/mars_preview_021108.html)

It was great viewing.

[Lazarus]

Laz, in his ignorance, stands outside all night armed with telescopes and cameras...


:uhh: Where is it? I dont see it...

[DoctorDoom]

It rises in the morning at about 12:45 AM local time, depending on your longitude and latitude. It's in Pisces now. Visual magnitude is about -0.2.

If you're an astronomy buff, try StarryNight (http://www.starrynight.com/). It comes in several flavors (and price tags). I use SN Enthusiast because I don't need the frills in the Pro versions, such as aiming computer-driven telescopes.

Have a chunk of hard-drive space available. Even Enthusiast eats up over a gig of space, mostly data files.

[Geoffrey20005]

Hehe, I should learn to research more before I open my mouth here ;) I keep forgetting that I am not dealing with brain-dead liberals I guess :D :D :D.

DoctorDoom, did you manage to catch Deep Impact and get any pictures of that?

-Geoffrey

[DoctorDoom]

Here's NASA's Deep Impact site: Deep Impact: Your First Look Inside a Comet! (http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html)

It includes many photos and video clips.

http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/jpg/HRI_937_1-med.jpg

This spectacular image of comet Tempel 1 was taken 67 seconds after it obliterated Deep Impact's impactor spacecraft. The image was taken by the high-resolution camera on the mission's flyby craft. Scattered light from the collision saturated the camera's detector, creating the bright splash seen here. Linear spokes of light radiate away from the impact site, while reflected sunlight illuminates most of the comet surface. The image reveals topographic features, including ridges, scalloped edges and possibly impact craters formed long ago.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UMD


Note: this is a government website, so anything on it is free for use elsewhere unless specifically noted as copyrighted.

[Geoffrey20005]

Thankee :)