I’ve been admiring it each night while out walking.
I know that it was at opposition last week. How much longer will we get these great views?
The view have been great, haven’t they? I’m eagerly awaiting January 31st!
What happens January 31st?
Yes, what is happening on 31 January?
Let’s put it this way: if you had plans to visit the Red Planet around then, you might want to re-schedule.
I see. We’ll presumably continue to get good views of Mars whether or not the asteroid hits it.
“No one would have believed in the early years of the 21st century that our world was being watched by intelligences greater than our own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns, they observed and studied, the way a man with a microscope might scrutinize the creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water…”
On January 31, there’s supposed to be an Earth-shattering kaboom.
It will be THE SIZE OF THE FULL MOON!!!
THIS IS A ONCE IN A LIFETIME EVENT!!! EMAIL THIS TO EVERYONE SO THAT NO ONE WILL MISS THIS!!!
…sorry…stupid spam-stuck-in-my-head thing…
(I swear, I’ve gotten dozen of these things over the last four or five years.)
You know what makes me cry myself to sleep each night? The fact most people in my email would believe me if I sent them that.
One of my favorite books. 
Book? BOOK? What is this “book” of which you speak?
[sub]Please don’t tell me I need to specify that the above is a joke, please.[/sub]
Whenever I read that passage, I hear it in the voice of the late, great Richard Burton (not the explorer, but Elizabeth Taylor’s double ex)…
And I think of this.
UUUUUUUUUULLLLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!
The likelihood of a hit is getting higher. A couple of weeks back it was 1 in 75. Now it is 1 in 25.
What do you think I had playing in the background when I wrote my post?
Somewhere in the back of my closet, there still exists one of the jackets we won for the sales display we did for that album. Warren made an 8’ high tripod, and we had it smashing “through” one of the walls of the store, zapping the “Country” section. 
<SLAPS Dijon with a Wet Trout>
You can always tell the geek. At last night’s fireworks I was busy pointing out Mars to people - and they couldn’t have cared less.
Hey, maybe you guys will know the answer to this: The night of December 23rd I was in downtown DC with friends, and we noticed something in the sky that almost seemed to be “anchoring” the moon (bottom right). It seemed to be a star, but was very bright. Many other people noticed it, too, and tried to take pictures. Any idea what that was?
I know absolutely nothing about astronomy, so please don’t laugh too hard if it was, in fact, Mars.
It was Mars. I called my sister so she could get the kiddoes outside and look at the two together that night.
Thanks! Now, can anyone explain – in layman’s terms – why Mars is so bright all of a sudden? Does it have anything to do with Cunctator’s “at opposition” phrase?