Supposedly Mars will appear on the 3rd and grow larger until the 27th when it will look as big or bigger than our own Moon making it look as if we have two moons.
2006-07-19 09:02:13 · 10 answers · asked by deercrazyarrow 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Not true. This premise actually sounds like a re-packaging of an event from 2003 when the Earth passed closer to Mars than it had in over 50,000 years. And then there was another "close call" in 2005. And even still, in each case, Mars appeared somewhat larger than usual, but nowhere near as big as the moon.
2006-07-19 09:05:10 · answer #1 · answered by norcalirish 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is just amazing the garbage that is spread on the internet.
The planet Mars orbits the sun approx 50 million miles further out than Earth. It's orbit and Earth's orbit are not truly circular, so sometimes Mars comes somewhat closer.
It NEVER comes close enough to see any kind of disk with the naked eye, and even a good pair binoculars never show a disk, even when Mars at closest.
Mars is not much bigger than the Moon, so it would have to approach almost as near to look the size of the moon, which is plainly ridiculous since the moon averages about 200 TIMES nearer to Earth than Mars.
All you will see in August is a slightly bigger, redder, starlike object.
2006-07-19 09:31:12 · answer #2 · answered by nick s 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. That's a rehash of a misunderstood astronomical ephemeris text. The year was 2003, which was three years ago. Mars was brighter and closer to Earth than it has been in recorded history. But it still didn't look anywhere near as big or bright as the moon did. This is OLD STUFF that wasn't even gotten right when it came around the FIRST TIME.
Here are the closest passes between Mars and Earth between 2003 and 2287.
27 August 2003, 0.3729 AU
30 July 2018, 0.3846 AU
9 September 2035, 0.3805 AU
13 August 2050, 0.3742 AU
17 July 2065, 0.3991 AU
23 September 2067, 0.3970 AU
28 August 2082, 0.3736 AU
31 July 2097, 0.3818 AU
12 September 2114, 0.3831 AU
15 August 2129, 0.3733 AU
19 July 2144, 0.3950 AU
25 September 2146, 0.4012 AU
29 August 2161, 0.3748 AU
2 August 2176, 0.3793 AU
13 September 2193, 0.3861 AU
18 August 2208, 0.3727 AU
22 July 2223, 0.3913 AU
1 September 2240, 0.3763 AU
6 August 2255, 0.3772 AU
15 September 2272, 0.3895 AU
20 August 2287, 0.3726 AU
Mars will be visible at other times, of course. But those are the days when it will be the brightest.
2006-07-19 10:11:10 · answer #3 · answered by David S 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, not true. Sadly, this is the 2nd time I have seen this hoax go around. If it were going to be that large, it would have to be just a bit farther away than our own moon (250,000 miles) It never gets closer than about 35 million. This is a hoax...period. What people are getting this confused with is the opposition of Mars from 2001 where it got brighter than it had for the past 10,000 years. Even then, it was only magnitude -1.5 or so. This ludicrous email went around last October too, when it was in opposition again. Then it was not quite as close as in August 2001, so not as bright.
I bet you will see email going around again in October.
2006-07-19 09:14:18 · answer #4 · answered by star2_watch 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Planet Mars will be the brightest in the night sky starting August. It will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. This will cultimate on Aug. 27 when Mars comes within 34.65M miles of Earth. Be sure to watch the sky on Aug. 27 12:30 am. It will look like The Earth has 2 Moons. Don't Miss it..... The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287.
2006-07-19 09:08:29 · answer #5 · answered by daffy duck 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No way. Mars is tens of millions of miles away, even at its closest point to Earth. The moon is only a 1/4 million miles away, yet close to half the size of Mars. Do the math.
2006-07-19 18:13:37 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is not true. The closest approach was three years ago. Even then, it took a 75 power telescope to make Mars look the size of the full Moon.
This old message has been circulating for years now and is worded in a manner that leads you to believe something that is not true.
2006-07-19 09:15:05 · answer #7 · answered by aichip_mark2 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Are you kidding? Ok, the moon is roughly 250000 miles away. Mars is like what 30 something million miles away. Not even a possibility. Use you head on this one.
2006-07-19 10:42:12 · answer #8 · answered by rcktpilot 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The event in question was in 2003. The emails circulating around the net are badly dated AND it never came as close as the emails led people to believe. It was very bright, though!
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/mars_preview_021108.html
2006-07-19 09:10:15 · answer #9 · answered by kevinngunn 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. But if you ingest the right drugs anything is possible.
2006-07-20 19:21:14 · answer #10 · answered by Search first before you ask it 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋