Mars

Just got this in an e-mail and thought I would share . . .

Something to look forward to this summer.




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 10p.m.
and reach its azimuth at about 3 a.m.

By the end of Augustwhen 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

~Will.

 

!!!!!


gotta go find our telescope in the garage

 

awwww crap, this is what i get for believing everything in my inbox.

my bad

snopes.com: Mars Close to Earth

~Will.

 

It would have been GREAT if it were TRUE

http://www.snopes.com/science/astronomy/brightmars.asp

 

Ah, you beat me to it
Still an interesting post..

P.S. Don't enlarge anything based on info in your inbox, lol

 

dissapointing

I saw the thread title and assumed there was some news about that caramel / nougat / chocolate coated bar

Steve

 

here you go steve, awesome news for our elder chocoholics.

Mars Chocolate Company Says Its Flavanol Drink Improves Brain Blood Flow

Cocoa flavanols may increase blood flow to the brain, according to new research published in the Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment journal. The researchers suggest that long-term improvements in brain blood flow could impact cognitive behavior, offering future potential for debilitating brain conditions including dementia and stroke.

In a Mars, Inc. study of healthy, older adults ages 59 to 83, Harvard medical scientists found that study participants who regularly drank a cocoa flavanol-rich beverage made using the Mars Cocoapro process had an eight percent increase in brain blood flow after one week, and 10 percent increase after two weeks.

The researchers found both short and long-term benefits of cocoa flavanols for brain blood flow, offering future potential for the one in seven older Americans currently living with dementia. When the flow of blood to the brain slows over time, the result may be structural damage and dementia. Scientists speculate that maintaining an increased blood flow to the brain could slow this cognitive decline.

"The totality of the research on cocoa flavanols is impressive. This is just one more study adding to an increasing body of literature connecting regular cocoa flavanol consumption to blood flow and vascular health improvements throughout the body," said Harold Schmitz, Ph.D., chief science officer at Mars, Incorporated, which has supported research on cocoa flavanols for more than 15 years. "Though more research is needed, these findings raise the possibility that flavanol-rich cocoa products could be developed to help slow brain decline in older age."

The researchers say the vascular effects of cocoa flavanols are independent of general "antioxidant" effects that cocoa flavanols exhibit in a test tube, outside of the body, contrary to some media stories.

Mars, Inc. has conducted and/or supported a significant portion of the research undertaken in the field of cocoa flavanols, evidenced by more than 100 peer-reviewed research publications and more than 80 patents held by the company. Mars also developed and patented the Cocoapro process used in this study.

Mars, Inc. has created a new division, Mars Botanical, to further investigate the biomedical potential of cocoa flavanols.

Article: Sorond FA, Lipsitz LA, Hollenberg NK, Fisher NDL. Cerebral blood flow response to flavanol-rich cocoa in healthy elderly humans. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment. 2008;4:433-440.

 

thank you

as they said in the UK

"A Mars a day helps you work, rest and avoid senility"

Steve

 

I've got even better news about Mars. Free Candy Fridays! And yes, it's legit. I already have one coupon and am expecting another:

https://secure.realchocolate.com/default.aspx

 

Candy that makes you SMARTER??? Count me in!