Supposedly it will be closer to earth than it has been in thousands of years and will never be seen again in our lifetimes .Thats pretty close ..What doees it mean ?
2006-08-05 11:21:31 · 14 answers · asked by cesare214 6 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Mars' closest approach in thousands of years was August 26th, 2003
However there will be a close approach in 2007 - just not the closest.
No it is never as big as the moon. Mars is about 4000 miles in diameter and the Moon is 2000 miles. So how close would Mars have to be to be larger than the Moon? You do the math...
2006-08-05 11:45:10 · answer #1 · answered by rscanner 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Always question emails that have this kind of stuff in it, if that is where you came up with your question. The idea that Mars will be as large as the moon this month is misguided and convoluted. Mars will be a bright "star" in the night sky as the orbits make a close approach ( approx. every two years) and as another Yahoo member mentioned, it will happen again on Dec. 18, 2007. But Mars will still just be a bright object in the sky, nothing more.
2006-08-10 13:56:52 · answer #2 · answered by wyldflwr623 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, it will still be too far away to be as large as the moon in the night sky.
What is meant that in the cycle of orbits of both the Earth and Mars that the distance between the two planets will be the shortest that it has been for many years. It may be slightly larger or brighter than usual to the naked eye. It may also provide better viewing through a telescope, but it will not be huge.
2006-08-05 18:28:19 · answer #3 · answered by Raymond C 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, that email that is going around is a hoax. I strongly recommend taking a look at this site when you get an email that seems questionable:
http://urbanlegends.about.com
Here's the links regarding this particular one:
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_mars_encounter_2006.htm
Even at the closest possible point between the Earth & Mars, there is no way for it to be as large as the moon. At best it will look like a very bright star.
2006-08-05 20:58:59 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
NO! That is an e-mail rumor, which I see is spreading fast!! Even if Mars was the same actual size as the moon, you woldn't be able to see it from Earth because the Moon is so much closer to Earth than Mars.
2006-08-11 00:54:01 · answer #5 · answered by definitivamente06 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Attention all people: Just to make things clear. Mars is 56,000,000 Km away from the earth. Its no big deal. That email is a hoax, and everyone on Yahoo Answers that says its true is wrong. Thank you.
**********IF YOU BELEIVE THIS HOAX, PREPARE TO DIE BECAUSE MARS IS GOING TO COLLIDE WITH THE EARTH!! BUT NOT BEFORE CAUSING MAJOR TIDAL WAVES, MAYBE THOUSANDS OF FEET TALL AND STORMS THAT CAN EVAPORATE A CITY! PANIC! OMFG PANIC! THE WORLD IS COMMING TO AN END! AHHHHH! NOT EVEN GOD CAN HELP US NOW! START RIOTS! LOOT! KILL! OMFG WERE GONNA DIEEEEE! THIS IS THE END! OMEGA! EVERYONE STAY UP LATE WORRYING ABOUT IT, EAT LESS, AND GET SICK OVER THE FACT THAT WERE ALL DEAD!!!! OH THE HUMANITY!**********
2006-08-05 21:44:13 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mars is roughly twice the diameter of the moon.
For it to appear as large as the moon, it would have to be about 600 000 Km or 375 000 miles away.
This assumes that they have a roughly comparable albedo. (Same degree of shininess)
even allowing for the vagaries of ice and sandstorms and red vs grey light absorbtion, Mars is NEVER within a few hundreds of thousands of miles.
The closest possible distace is still measured in TENS OF MILLIONS of Miles.
2006-08-10 17:47:11 · answer #7 · answered by aka DarthDad 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That it will be as large as the moon is a hoax. The same rumor was circulating about 4 months ago, and I found this from last year.
http://www.floridastars.org/marshoax.html
2006-08-05 18:30:18 · answer #8 · answered by cassandra 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no.
it is'nt possible, cause the moon is comparitively closer and no matter how well aligned the earth is with mars it will still seem like a pinpoint object
2006-08-11 11:00:41 · answer #9 · answered by absentmindednik 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sorry dude this happened 3 years ago and not again in the near future!!!
2006-08-13 15:41:08 · answer #10 · answered by mamanoelia 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋