Mars
to be closer than ever in 60,000 years
By
Jo Appleton
Daily Forty-Niner
Hot
and dry weather kicked up dust most people
have tried to avoid during the last two
weeks but this Thursday no one will want
to miss the swirling orange dust clouds
on Mars, which will be closer to Earth than
it has been in 60,000 years, according to
NASA.
For
the first, and only, time in our lives the
magnificent planet will be bigger and brighter
than ever before, revealing its white water
ice clouds on the south polar cap and whirling
dust clouds atop a vibrant rusty landscape.
Our
neighboring planet and fourth rock from
the Sun will be less than 55.76 kilometers
(34.65 million miles) away form Earth Thursday,
five times closer than it was just seven
months ago, said NASA.
"Think
of Earth and Mars as two race cars going
around a track," said Dr. Myles Standish,
an astronomer from NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Earth
is on a race track that is inside the track
that Mars goes around, and neither track
is perfectly circular. There is one place
where the two race tracks are closest together.
When Earth and Mars are at that place simultaneously,
it is an unusually close approach referred
to as a 'perihelic opposition.'"
Opposition
is a term used when Earth and another planet
are lined up in the same direction from
the sun, the NASA Web site explains. The
term "perihelic" comes from perihelion,
the point of orbit in which a celestial
body is closest to the Sun. This month,
Mars will reach its perihelion and be in
line with Earth and the Sun at the same
time.
In 1995, the opposition brought Mars 101.1
million kilometers (62.8 million miles)
from the Earth, said NASA, double the distance
of this most recent approach.
"In
1971, Earth and Mars were only about one
percent further apart than they will be
Aug. 27," said Standish. "There's
nothing really scientifically shaking about
it."
In
fact, while our neighboring planet was not
as close as it is now, Standish said the
occurrence had more significance.
"It
was a little more important because we were
using radar and bouncing the radar off of
Mars," he said. "Back then the
closeness was important because the radar
was not as good as it is today."
Still,
Standish said he would encourage people
to go out and see it while they can.
Observers
in the Northern Hemisphere can see it shimmering
marvelously in the southern sky lying in
the constellation Aquarius, according to
NASA, which is best seen just before dawn.
"You're
not going to go outside and see some big
red ball in the sky," Standish
said. "It will look like a bright red
star."
While
Mars will be closest to Earth on Aug. 27,
astronomers suggest viewing the planet sooner,
as dust storm season is just beginning on
the red planet and can block a more detailed
view, said NASA.
Unless
you can visit a local observatory, gazing
through a telescope is the best way to observe
this unique phenomenon, and if not, a pair
of binoculars will be well worth the small
expense said Standish.
According
to NASA, Mars will not make another visit
this close until 2287.
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