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#1 2002-10-28 20:22:18
- Phobos
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- Registered: 2002-01-02
- Posts: 1,103
Re: Mars getting close - and looking good!
According to Astronomy.com Mars is going to look better than it has in 2000 years. I guess now would be a better time than any to get a scope. An excerpt from the article:
Although the planet may not look terribly prominent at the moment, just wait a few months. It has started on a slow march toward its best appearance in our sky in more than 2,000 years. More than any other planet, Mars can range from truly spectacular to downright mediocre. Fortunately for Earthbound observers, the view in 2003 will tip decidedly toward the former.
To achieve the impossible you must attempt the absurd
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#2 2002-10-31 10:58:10
- Number04
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- From: Calgary Alberta Canada
- Registered: 2002-09-24
- Posts: 162
Re: Mars getting close - and looking good!
YAY! field trip to mars!
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#3 2004-11-13 20:28:46
- Shaun Barrett
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- From: Cairns, Queensland, Australia
- Registered: 2001-12-28
- Posts: 2,843
Re: Mars getting close - and looking good!
I just found http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/ … .html]THIS SITE, which I thought you might find interesting and useful for working out how long information to and from the MERs takes to arrive.
For example, at present we're about 375 million km from Mars, which is 1250 light seconds, or nearly 21 light minutes. (Calculated from the Distance divided by the Speed-of-Light, or 375,000,000/300,000.)
I fast-forwarded the thing until the next close approach of Earth and Mars, in November next year, and found that we'll only be 69 million km away. Not as good as last year's 56 million km approach, but it should still provide good viewing. 
The site also shows the relative apparent size of Mars through a telescope as the two planets do their pirouettes around the Sun.
[For this post, I thought I'd pick this old thread, instigated by our long lost friend Phobos, in the hope that it might prompt him to return if he sees it.
Come on Phobos .. ! ]
The word 'aerobics' came about when the gym instructors got together and said: If we're going to charge $10 an hour, we can't call it Jumping Up and Down. - Rita Rudner
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