2006-07-22 12:52:36 · 7 answers · asked by elkbear63 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
No, Mars can never look as big as the moon from the vantage point of the Earth. It is just way too far away, even at its closest approach to Earth. On August 27th, 2003, Mars came closer to Earth than it has in something like 54,000 years, and due to this fact, a false rumor began to spread that on or around that date, Mars would look as big as the full moon. Mars did look huge at that time in amateur telescopes and even in binoculars, and it was truly a rare treat. Earth and Mars approach each other closely roughly every 2.2 years, but some close approaches are alot closer than others. Mars will next approach Earth closely again in late December, 2007, but unfortunately it will be about 50% farther away than in August of 2003. It will again approach Earth maybe 96-97% as close as August 27, 2003, but we will have to wait until 2018 for this. Another really close approach will occur ~2033, but none have been as close, nor will they ever be as close as August 27, 2003.(darn). Another way to see Mars up close is to travel there to visit, as I intend to do as soon as I can get NASA to build its new Ares rocket, which is currently scheduled to fly ~2020 and will take us humans to Mars shortly thereafter(seriously). Mars HO!! If you are serious about reading a serious engineering discussion about traveling to Mars, I highly recommend the book: "The Case for Mars" by Dr. Robert Zubrin, PhD, available from Amazon and from many local book stores.
2006-07-22 13:28:52 · answer #1 · answered by Sciencenut 7 · 7⤊ 1⤋
I hadn't heard that (good website provided by the other), but I do know Mars is going retrograde, where it will look like it's rotating in the opposite direction - this happens any day now.
2006-07-22 20:14:08 · answer #2 · answered by Isthisnametaken2 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
there is no truth to that rumor...mars is 240 million miles away. it will look like an extremely bright star, but in no way will it appear that large. in 2003, it was as close as it's going to get for a long time.
2006-07-22 19:56:46 · answer #3 · answered by jdmclm2003 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm not sure, I've heard about that to, that we should be able to see mars, just as clearly as the moon...I hope its true.
2006-07-22 20:12:58 · answer #4 · answered by poetic_lala 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually, mars is already bigger than the moon, it just looks smaller cause it's farther away.
2006-07-22 19:55:41 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The short answer is no. For a longer answer check out my source.
2006-07-22 19:57:07 · answer #6 · answered by Cybeq 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Assuming you "will it look as big as the moon?" -- no; it doesn't come close enough. Someone's funnin' ya.
2006-07-22 19:57:33 · answer #7 · answered by tehabwa 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋