Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Lift Up Your Eyes

Isaiah 40:26 - Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, the One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power not one of them is missing.

Thanks Mom for this email.

The Red Planet is about to be spectacular!

This month and next, Earth is catching up with Mars in 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 before it happens again.

The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to within 34,649,589 miles of Earth 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.
Mars will be easy to spot. At the beginning of August it will rise in the east at 10p.m. and reach its azimuth at about 3 a.m.


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 12:30a.m. That's pretty convenient to see something that no human being 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.

NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Could this be a celestial "sign" as prophesied by Joel and in Acts regarding Christs' second coming?
Acts:2:17-20......."And it shall be in the Last Days, God says.....And I will grant wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth below....The sun will be turned into darkness "AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD" (Mars?) before the great and glorious Day of the Lord shall come".

---I'm not so sure, but who knows?

Todd said...

God's glory is evident in Mars regardless of whether we see it with the naked eye or not. But, I don't believe this story is true.

http://www.hoax-slayer.com/mars-earth-close.html