Thought I'd share this email I received......
Never again in your 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.
>
> On August 27, Mars will come 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. 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 friends, children and grandchildren. No one alive today
> will ever see this again!