For the 11 year
in a row, a message about the Red Planet is popping up in email boxes, whtsapp
and other social media groups around the world. It instructs readers to go
outside after dark on August 27th and behold the sky. "Mars will look as
large as the full moon," it says. "No one alive today will ever see
this again."
Don't believe
it!!!!!
Here's what will
really happen if you go outside after dark on August 27th. Nothing. Mars won't
be there. On that date, the red planet will be nearly 318 million km away from
Earth and completely absent from the late night sky. This mail is a hoax but it
has done some service to Astronomy by making it popular among masses so that
they can at least have a discussion on the matter. We will just go through the
mail again and see why it is a hoax. The original mail is in bold and italics
followed by explanation
1. Since
this won't happen again between 5,000 and 60,000 years...might be worth a look
now: Mars - The Red Planet is about to be spectacular!
Mars always looks
spectacular as a small red dot in the black skies!!
2. This
month the 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 the year 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.
Mars comes close
to earth once in 2 years (26 months to be precise) and that’s called
opposition. Last time it happened was in April 2014 and will happen next time
in May 22, 2016. Also when planet is closest, then Mars rises as sun sets but
in this case mars is setting within 3 hours of sunset.
This month on 27th
August it will be at a distance of 1.35 AU from the earth (Approx. 201 million
kms from earth). Jupiter’s gravity tug has got nothing to with the phenomenon.
It came closest to earth in last 60000 years on 27th August 2003 and
that’s the only resemblance with the date.
For your
information last 4 oppositions and the next one is given below:
2007 Dec
24 0.5929 AU 88.7 million kms
2010 Jan
29 0.6639 AU 99.33 million kms
2012 Mar
03 0.6743 AU 100.93 million kms
2014 Apr
08 0.6175 AU 92.3 Million kms
2016 May
22 0.5032 AU 75.2 Million kms
3. The
encounter will culminate on August 27, 2014 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…
When it says it
will be brightest object next to moon and with a magnitude of -2.9 and will
appear 25.11 seconds of arc, the statement has no meaning. But the catch in
this statement is that through a 75x magnification from the telescope it will
look as if you are watching the moon with naked eye. For you information, full
moon has a magnitude of -13 which as compared to -2.9 is huge (around 10000
times difference in brightness). Moon as seen with naked eye looks as a circle
of 1800 seconds of arc (half a degree) in comparison to Mars as mere 7 arc sec.
Mars on 27th August, 2014 will be shining meekly at magnitude 0.5
which is almost quite fainter than what is written about mars on that day (its
like watching at 100 w bulb at a distance of 39 kms) and it will 201 million
kilometers away from earth. In fact Venus will be the brightest object in the
skies this august but in the early morning skies.
4. 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 10 p.m. and reach
its azimuth at about 3 a.m.
Totally false
statement. As per previous Paragraph, Mars can never look as large as full moon
to naked eye. Mars will set by 10:30 pm on that day.
5. 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.
Totally false
statement: Moon is not a planet first of all. And in august around 27th mars will rise at around 11:48 am IST, will
be achieving its highest point at 3:00 pm IST and will set by 10:30 hrs IST and
Moon will be in its waxing phase just after new moon on 27th August
and will rise set by 19:30 IST. Full Moon occurred on Aug 10th, on
the day of rakhi festival. The
mail/message which you have received is a copy of the mail meant for 2003
closest approach. These two heavenly bodies will never be in the same sky at
any given time.
6. Share
this with your children and grandchildren. NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE
THIS AGAIN
Yes, share the
news with your children and grandchildren because it will invoke their interest
in Astronomy!!!! Do see the Mars in the evening skies these days with help of a
telescope.
Written by C B Devgun, President, SPACE Foundation.
