For bent people

[OldmanMozz]

Thought this might be interesting for fellow stoners.

 

In July

>and August, 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 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.

 

 

 

cheers an cones an keep looking up Mozz

[Guest Field_of_Light]

Cheers for that MOZ......just marked it on the calender...

 

Anyone remember the meteor shower about 3-4 years ago?

 

Makes ya feel a little bit insignificant....

[Luke Skywalker]

I love the stars and astronomy in general. I just heard "starstuff" on newsradio, and they were talking about the Mars orbit coming to it's closest in well, ever since records have been kept... (unless the neanderthals could make telescopes and record observations of planets...) and they said that Australia is in the enviable position of having Mars high in the sky during this time... When stars and planets are higher, rather than near the horizon, it's much easier to see them... because of the amount of atmosphere that the light has to travel through is different from those two positions...

 

I dunno, this kind of stuff just blows me away... (although that might be interpreted as a purely stoner thing... read on...) To look into space and now that this is as the universe was, not is, and the light from some of the things you see has taken longer to travel here than the Earth has been around.... Wow.... Yeah, I agree it can make you feel a little insignificant... but also gives me a sense of great wonder and amazement that I should be priviliged enough to be alive to see these things...

 

Anyone into astronomy or other space science, StarStuff is available on demand through this Link... or on the air on Saturday and Sunday at 11pm Eastern Time, replayed Monday at 5.00am and 12.30pm. (Ya just missed it, but like I said, you can get it online...) Anyway, get onto Newsradio and hear about the universe around you....

 

I grew up in a small country town, until you've seen the milky way when there are no lights around, you ain't even seen it at all... I think that's part of where my love of space and astronomy came from.... Seeing the milkyway like that opened my eyes only seeing such a spectacle can...

 

Oh, that and I'm an intergalactic hero of the Republic, sworn to uphold the laws and keep the peace... heh heh...

 

Here's a pic of the milky way for ya, nothing like looking at your home eh?

 

We are all star stuff in the end...

[Luke Skywalker]

And here's another one for ya...

This is a hubble image called the "Cone" ( )nebula... Could it be that god sparks up cones too? Nebulas are where stars are born too, maybe these are consmological size cones being lit up, it just takes a couple billion years to go out again... after all, this is God toking here...

 

Enjoy, and know that the world around you is far more beautiful and spectacular than we could have ever dreamed...