Watch the sky tonight!

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http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/18jun_approachingmars.htm

― dog latin (dog latin), Wednesday, 27 August 2003 11:20 (twenty-two years ago)

NOTHING TO SEE HERE

― dawnie lizard (mark s), Wednesday, 27 August 2003 11:22 (twenty-two years ago)

I've gone blind!

― DV (dirtyvicar), Wednesday, 27 August 2003 12:35 (twenty-two years ago)

what you'll see....

― j0e (j0e), Wednesday, 27 August 2003 12:38 (twenty-two years ago)

It's been very visible from where I am for about a fortnight. Lovely.

― Lynskey (Lynskey), Wednesday, 27 August 2003 12:39 (twenty-two years ago)

i may have been confusing Mars with Venus in the night sky lately. there's a really bright large dot low in the south-easterly sky with an orangey hue at night that i took to be the red planet. is this the astronomical equivalent of going to Thailand, taking the prettiest hooker back to your room but only then finding out she's a he?

― stevem (blueski), Wednesday, 27 August 2003 12:39 (twenty-two years ago)

am i obligated in any way to look at this "mars"¿
do i have to¿

― dyson (dyson), Wednesday, 27 August 2003 12:40 (twenty-two years ago)

yes, worship the god of war!

― stevem (blueski), Wednesday, 27 August 2003 12:41 (twenty-two years ago)

Lord Sutekh draws near

― Alan (Alan), Wednesday, 27 August 2003 12:42 (twenty-two years ago)

LOOK EVERYONE

http://www.expatcorner.ca/chocolate/images/35209.JPG

And tonight it will be bigger than ever apparently. Yum yum.

― j0e (j0e), Wednesday, 27 August 2003 12:45 (twenty-two years ago)

Also, if you look to the left...

http://www.expatcorner.ca/chocolate/images/35120.JPG

http://www.expatcorner.ca/chocolate/images/035188.JPG

― j0e (j0e), Wednesday, 27 August 2003 12:46 (twenty-two years ago)

damn I'm hungry

― j0e (j0e), Wednesday, 27 August 2003 12:46 (twenty-two years ago)

Mars is a 'fun sized' planet

― stevem (blueski), Wednesday, 27 August 2003 12:46 (twenty-two years ago)

from October if you look north up at the night sky i believe you will also see The Jumbo Yorkie

women may find themselves unable to see it for some reason...

― stevem (blueski), Wednesday, 27 August 2003 12:48 (twenty-two years ago)

We need more space-age chocolates called things like Nebula

― j0e (j0e), Wednesday, 27 August 2003 12:49 (twenty-two years ago)

Cadbury's 'Red Shift'

― stevem (blueski), Wednesday, 27 August 2003 12:52 (twenty-two years ago)

I wish I wasn't so f'n lazy. I need to get my ass to the science museum.

I'll never forget my mom waking me up around 3am or something one morning when I was very tiny to see Haley's comet.

― Sarah McLUsky (coco), Wednesday, 27 August 2003 12:54 (twenty-two years ago)

I've been peepin' Mars in the sky for a little more than a week! I attribute this to the fact that I've been outside at some point between 1 and 4 am every night for the past 2 weeks. It's k-cool, it's red!

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Wednesday, 27 August 2003 12:59 (twenty-two years ago)

i remember Hale-Bopp well

― stevem (blueski), Wednesday, 27 August 2003 12:59 (twenty-two years ago)

So, is that thing in the sky to the south-east Mars? Because I noticed it last week - it really is red.

― Kerry (dymaxia), Wednesday, 27 August 2003 13:01 (twenty-two years ago)

damn, i haven't been able to see it here in wa. but then again, i'm on a naval base, and they friggin regulate anything with even the slightest bit of interest. but i bet it's rad. whoa, man, the colors, man , the Colors!

― ryan t hoffman, Wednesday, 27 August 2003 13:59 (twenty-two years ago)

do you even know if you are being sarcastic dude?

― stevem (blueski), Wednesday, 27 August 2003 14:05 (twenty-two years ago)

sarcastic? no, i was just playin around, damn. wasn't makin fun of anyone, except myself, cuz i had those "whoa, the colors" times back in the day, so back off.

― ryan t hoffman, Wednesday, 27 August 2003 14:08 (twenty-two years ago)

Hale-Bopp was the best thing ever.

http://lvaas.org/gallery/1997/hale-bopp-1.jpg

― Mark C (Mark C), Wednesday, 27 August 2003 14:12 (twenty-two years ago)

i saw something like that in 2002 in cali when iwas going thru fmss. was really rad, wish i had a camera

― ryan t hoffman, Wednesday, 27 August 2003 14:16 (twenty-two years ago)

Hale-Bopp was the best thing ever.

What I liked most about it was the way it appeared at exactly the same time as 'MMMBop'. It was like Hanson had been sent from another planet to welcome it.

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 27 August 2003 15:08 (twenty-two years ago)

hanson? honestly, when they came out, i was one of the morons who thought those young "chicks" were kinda cute. thankfully, my dumb ass wasn't the only one :)

― ryan t hoffman, Wednesday, 27 August 2003 15:14 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah, Hale-Bopp was great!

I miss seeing Mir!

Mars was beautiful the other night.

I think the Nebula in Orion is my favourite astronomical thing.

― jel -- (jel), Wednesday, 27 August 2003 15:26 (twenty-two years ago)

i spotted it at radiohead a couple weeks back~the moon was full~sail to the moon*

― kephm, Wednesday, 27 August 2003 20:09 (twenty-two years ago)

I hung out with the LA Astronomy Club and managed to get some pretty fantastic views. Rough Photoshop sketch:

http://www.quartzcity.net/~chris/blogpicts/mars2003.jpg

― Chris Barrus (Chris Barrus), Thursday, 28 August 2003 01:50 (twenty-two years ago)

that was through a pretty serious light bucket - 24" reflector

― Chris Barrus (Chris Barrus), Thursday, 28 August 2003 01:52 (twenty-two years ago)

Just gawked at it now while fetching my laundry. Great sight to see. :-)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 28 August 2003 04:07 (twenty-two years ago)

I took a picture of Hale Bopp that kind of looked like yours Mark C. Except my comet was going right to left and I had a pretty long exposure so it had a long swishy tail.

― Carey (Carey), Thursday, 28 August 2003 04:24 (twenty-two years ago)

If only that was my pic, Carey. I remember walking out of my parents house and stopping dead in my tracks at the sight of the comet at about 30%, dead ahead of me. This is in London, so you can barely see anything in the sky at night, but it was wonderful. It stayed for weeks, and it made me amazingly happy.

If anyone decides I deserve a big present, can I have a 24" reflector please?

― Mark C (Mark C), Thursday, 28 August 2003 12:56 (twenty-two years ago)

I've missed this... fucking clouds.

Any idea how long it will be visible for?

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Thursday, 28 August 2003 13:03 (twenty-two years ago)

It's a planet, Matt. I'd give it another 5 billion years or so.

― Mark C (Mark C), Thursday, 28 August 2003 13:13 (twenty-two years ago)

I mean visible for the average person standing round in London, you effing pedant.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Thursday, 28 August 2003 13:25 (twenty-two years ago)

That's a bit uncalled for. It's justa bit brighter than usual at the moment - it's not going to make a huge amount of difference if you have a look in 6 months. If you have a telescope, then it doesn't really matter. If you DO have a telescope, can I come and have a look too?

― Mark C (Mark C), Thursday, 28 August 2003 13:27 (twenty-two years ago)

It's justa bit brighter than usual at the moment - it's not going to make a huge amount of difference if you have a look in 6 months.

B-but Earth and Mars will have moved millions of miles away from each other in their orbits by then! This is special, surely?

One day I'll write a book which starts with my Dad taking me up to the Breck to see Kohoutek, and the book will be in the shape of a comet which is the shape of a provincial town whose streets arrange themselves to spell 'Kohoutek'.

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Thursday, 28 August 2003 13:34 (twenty-two years ago)

my friend ken and i saw it high above the south end of cleveland street just as we were talking abt nasa and the mars mission

Ken: See if the NASA ppl had said "Yes it is a big giant face we have to go see" they could have funded the mission in no time. You know that Brian de Palma film abt Mars: de Palma's brother is a real actual moon rocket scientist and there are conspiracy theories all over the net abt how de Palma is in NASA's pocket*
ms: my conspiracy theory is that NASA demanded a superboring film so that no one wd pay for them go to mars cz otherwise we wd know abt the lizards OMIGOD LOOK IT'S HUGE!!

*(Ken doesn't actually talk like this, though this WAS the topic: also he knows the name of the film but I forgot it since)

― mark s (mark s), Thursday, 28 August 2003 13:34 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, I thought the point of this event was that it was very, very rare. I didn't think it had been possible to see Mars with the naked eye before a few days/weeks ago...

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Thursday, 28 August 2003 13:38 (twenty-two years ago)

we tried to bounce a silver ball off it last night, like the woods wizards in the white deer do with the moon, but it has perhaps moved beyond the nearest point and we failed

also we are not woods wizards

― mark s (mark s), Thursday, 28 August 2003 13:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Mars is usually the 2nd or 3rd brightest planet, and while it isn't always visible, it is a lot of the time. Unless you're looking through some device or other, you'll only see a rather bright orange dot in the sky. Which isn't to say it's not worth seeing, but it's also not like a once in a lifetime thing either.

Also, Mars and Earth go the same way round the sun, so the separation of the two won't be as quick as if they went opposite ways.

― Mark C (Mark C), Thursday, 28 August 2003 14:56 (twenty-two years ago)

Also, Mars and Earth go the same way round the sun, so the separation of the two won't be as quick as if they went opposite ways.

No planet has retrograde solar orbit, do they? That would be bonkers. In six months Earth will be through 180deg of its orbit, Mars will be through - what - about 100deg? So a fair old stretch away. Then there's inclination and whatnot.

But, yes, I get the general point. Mars not beach ball sized in the sky all of a sudden (more's the pity).

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Thursday, 28 August 2003 15:13 (twenty-two years ago)

To labour the point, if only to get Mark to swear in irritation at me, Earth-Mars distance on Feb 19 2003 = 150.6 million miles (apparent magnitude +1.1), Earth-Mars yesterday = 34.7 million miles (app mag -2.9).

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Thursday, 28 August 2003 15:19 (twenty-two years ago)

Yes, Mike's right. And I am pretty sure that Venus goes the wrong way (as it were) around the sun.

So - did anyone actually SEE Mars last night?

― Mark C (Mark C), Thursday, 28 August 2003 15:27 (twenty-two years ago)

I did. In the Southern sky around 11:30. It was bright and pinkish and v. pretty.

― robster (robster), Thursday, 28 August 2003 15:32 (twenty-two years ago)

i read a book when i wz small that explained that venus goes the wrong way cz of space aliens

― mark s (mark s), Thursday, 28 August 2003 15:42 (twenty-two years ago)

And I am pretty sure that Venus goes the wrong way (as it were) around the sun.

Venus's retrogradosity is about its own axis - i.e. it (and Uranus, sort of - it's got a mad axial tilt that confuses things) have an opposite spin to all the other planets, but the still orbit the sun the same way. A few minor satellites of Jupiter exhibit retrograde orbits. The Venusian day is also famously longer than its year. The licensing laws are mental.

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Thursday, 28 August 2003 15:51 (twenty-two years ago)

Steady Mike, I love you.

― Mark C (Mark C), Thursday, 28 August 2003 15:54 (twenty-two years ago)

Funny thing -- the Post (yeah I know...) had this big picture of Mars on the cover and sreamed at us that Mars was as close as it had ever been in 60,000 years. It's the sort of thing where I debate the relevance of seeing it like this. When I am old and wistful will I remember seeing Mars at its zenith? Will my life be less for not waking at 4 in the morning to see Mars -- so close -- a sight that Modern Man has never seen before?

Then I jump under the covers and shudder after considering my cosmic insignificance.

― Mod, Thursday, 28 August 2003 15:57 (twenty-two years ago)

my grandma used to tell us abt seeing halley's comet in 1910 (?): she said it shot across the sky with a loud fizzing sound; she thought the second time she saw it wz v.tame and feeble and she blamed modern fashions

― mark s (mark s), Thursday, 28 August 2003 16:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Wouldn't you know it...DC was overcast and storming last night.

― j.lu (j.lu), Thursday, 28 August 2003 16:01 (twenty-two years ago)

Are the two moons too small to see in the telescope? Surprised no one mentions Deimos and Phobos.

And when is Phobos supposed to ram itself into the Martian landscape?

― donut bitch (donut), Thursday, 28 August 2003 16:11 (twenty-two years ago)

Billions and billions of years.

― ModJ, Thursday, 28 August 2003 16:13 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah, I saw Mars last night. I think Venus is better to be honest.

― jel -- (jel), Thursday, 28 August 2003 16:48 (twenty-two years ago)

Are the two moons too small to see in the telescope? Surprised no one mentions Deimos and Phobos.

I've seen Phobos in a 24" reflector, but it's a tough one to spot because it's lost in the glare of Mars itself.

And when is Phobos supposed to ram itself into the Martian landscape?

About 50 million years

― Chris Barrus (Chris Barrus), Thursday, 28 August 2003 17:11 (twenty-two years ago)

A few minor satellites of Jupiter exhibit retrograde orbits.

Neptune's moon Triton also has a retrograde orbit.

― Chris Barrus (Chris Barrus), Thursday, 28 August 2003 17:12 (twenty-two years ago)

So - did anyone actually SEE Mars last night?

I've been seeing it all week. Finally got my telescope out of the garage.

― Chris Barrus (Chris Barrus), Thursday, 28 August 2003 17:14 (twenty-two years ago)

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