Here is an email that I thought was interesting, so I'm reposting it here:
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>** Something to star gaze over with friends and family!**
>
>
>Never again in your (or my) lifetime will the Red Planet be so
>spectacular.
>This month and next, Earth is catching up with Mars, 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. The
>encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to within
>34,649,589 miles 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.
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>Mars will be easy to spot. At the beginning of August Mars will rise in
>the east at 10 p.m. and reach its azimuth at about 3 a.m. But 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 when it comes to seeing something that no human 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! No
>one alive today will ever see this again.
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