MAE JULIAN
‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑Watching Mars
Dear Waynedale Friends,
I know a lot of you have computers, and probably have seen notices that Mars will be closer to Earth next month than it has ever been in our lifetimes. All of you who have been reading my column know that I am a sky watcher. It started when I was a kid and I used to lay in the grass in Waynedale Park or our front yard, ‑for untold numbers of hours, watching the clouds by day, and the stars and moon by night. I also love weather when most people don’t. A clear blue sky is a bit boring to me, but a sky filled with clouds, in varying patterns and of different types is an amazement to me, still. I love the approach of a thunderstorm and lighting is spectacular. I was even in a ‑tornado once, when I lived in North Carolina and I even loved that. I went out to see it come in and took cover just in time. Not too much damage was done and it was thrilling.
For those of you who do not know this, I will advise you of the coming spectacular event: 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 will come this close to Earth will be in 2287. It has not been this close to us in 5,000 years. When you consider that it could be 60,000 years before it is this close again, it behooves all of us to go out at night and look upwards. Mars is the red planet, even if this is the only thing you know about it, so you should be able to spot it. It will rise in the East. ‑The closest encounter will be on August 27th when Mars comes to within 34,649,589 miles of Earth and, next to the Moon, will be the brightest object in the night sky.
With a pair of binoculars ‑(of approx. 75 power magnification) Mars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. Beginning in August, it will rise in the East at 10:00 P.M. ‑It will reach its azimuth at about 3:00 A.M.
By the end of August, when Earth and Mars are at their closest point, Mars will rise at nightfall, and reach its highest point in the sky at 12:00 A.M.
So……everybody mark your calendars!!! ‑Begin on the first day of August and watch Mars grow progressively brighter throughout the month. Keep in mind that no one alive has ever seen this beautiful sight, and no one alive will ever see it again.
I will be watching, and I hope all of you will be watching too. This is going to be quite spectacular, so if you don’t have binoculars, you have time to run out and buy a pair. If you only look with the naked eye, that won’t be bad, but not as incredible as it will be looking through binoculars, or …..a telescope! ‑I will be at our lake house in Indiana, with a telescope. I’m very excited about this, and I hope that many of you will take this opportunity to see a “once in a lifetime” phenomenon.
Your forever friend,
Mae
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