The night comes alive Aug 11th & 12th

[MA-Caver]

From a fellow caver...

If, like me, you receive an e-mail reading something like "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.", it is a hoax. You can go to the link and get all the information about it. It will save you research time!

You can, however, observe the Perseids meteor shower on August 11-12. The best time to watch is during the hours before sunrise when Perseus is high in the sky. Between 2 a.m. and dawn on August 12th, if you get away from city lights, you could see hundreds of meteors.


And there's a bonus: Mars.
In the constellation Aries, right beside Perseus, Mars is shining like a bright red star.
Earth and Mars are converging for a close [not closest] encounter on October 30th. Consider August 12th a preview. Mars already outshines every star in the night sky, and it's getting brighter every night.

Happy viewing!

 

[kenpochad]

Cool thanks

 

[Rich Parsons]

This did occur, but in 2003 I believe.