Mars, Earth, Make Closest Approach Ever

"No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinized and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinize the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. With infinite complacency men went to and fro over this globe about their little affairs, serene in their assurance of their empire over matter. It is possible that the infusoria under the microscope do the same. No one gave a thought to the older worlds of space as sources of human danger, or thought of them only to dismiss the idea of life upon them as impossible or improbable."

--H.G. Wells, The War Of The Worlds (1897)

Never again in our lifetimes, will the Red Planet be so spectacular in the night sky. 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 he naked eye.

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 with your children and grandchildren.

No one alive today will ever see this again.

"...The Men of Earth came to Mars. They came because they were afraid or unafraid, because they were happy or unhappy, because they felt like Pilgrims or did not feel like Pilgrims. There was a reason for each man. They were leaving bad wives or bad towns; they were coming to find something or leave something or get something, to dig up something or bury something or leave something alone. They were coming with small dreams or large dreams or none at all....it was not unusual that the first men were few. The numbers grew steadily in proportion to the census of Earth Men already on Mars. There was comfort in numbers. But the first Lonely Ones had to stand by themselves..."

--Ray Bradbury, The Martian Chronicles (1951)

FMI: http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/choices/mars1.htm