The official newsletter will be coming next week. However, we wanted to get
this deadline information to you.
N4C ENTRIES FOR SEPTEMBER
If anyone wants to enter a print/slide for N4C for September they should
have them at Steve Paulson's "porch" by SEPT. 7 by 3 P.M.
Entries include: Color or B & W prints
PJ Prints or slides
2 1/4 slides
PHOTO OP/ and or just plan interesting event
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 27 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. Share this with
your children and grandchildren. NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS
AGAIN
NEWSLETTER INFORMATION?
If anyone has something they want included in the upcoming newsletter,
please e-mail us before Aug. 20.
MEETING
The first meeting this year will be Thursday, September 11 at 7:30 p.m.,
First Presbyterian Church in Sioux City.
Sioux Scope Editors
Tom Atkinson & Paula Warp
posted by Larry 11:32 PM