MARS special
From my office mailbox - don't know whether it's true...
MARS, 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 27th 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 10 pm and reach its azimuth at about 3 am.
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 am. 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
More Photos
Uploaded some photos from my World Cup travels
here.
More to come when KA and Lenny pass me theirs...
LV Virgin
Alfoo sashays into the LV store near Milan's Duomo, the first time he's ever gone through the doors of the famous bag boutique.
He spots a cute Italian salesgirl, and attempts to strike up a conversation...
Al: Do you have any items on sale?
LV gal: *Gives an arrogant look*
LV gal (puts on a strong Italian accent): In LV, we NEVER have sales.
If you want sales, pls go over to Gucci or Prada next door...
Al: *speechless*
Thankfully, my friend intervenes, and buys a bag for his mum after getting her 'order' via sms.
Overwhelmed
Houston... we have a problem.
This blogger is now 'stuck' with six extra World Cup semi-final tickets, courtesy of the Fifa waitlist.
Now to exchange them for some extra shopping $...
Lesson learnt:
When God blesses you, He goes beyond the distance.
When the disciples went fishing, they caught so much till their nets began to break...
Blessed
As Homer Simpson would belt out - I've got news for you mister.
Managed to secure tickets to both World Cup semi-finals.
So it's Germany-Italy, then France-Portugal.
God has been really good to us since our arrival last Wednesday.
1) He gave us an almost brand new Opel Zafira 1.9 diesel MPV to drive... lots of space for bags and shopping, plus diesel is about 20 euro cents cheaper than petrol.
2) Free tics to the Germany-Argentina quarter-final, which were next to the Philips counter girls. =)
3) Tics for the France-Portugal semi-final.
4) Journey mercies - lots of it.
5) Good health
Too tired to think... so I shall blog randomly.
Did I mention that I've erased my previous top speed of 185km/h clocking 215km/h on the autobahn. As KA says, we'll be crawling on the BKE when we return to Sing land.
Sat six rows behind the goal at the England-Portugal match on Saturday (pls let me know if you saw me on tv!)
I'm in Cologne now using the hotel's free internet while KA grabs some sleep.
