on August 27th at 12:30 am? Marz is supposed to be VERY close to Earth then! I can't wait to see it! Just wondering if you all heard anything of it....
2007-07-26 19:45:36 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
very interesting you two! and # 3, I don't think it's a hoax...we'll just see about that now won't we? It is so fascinating though, isn't it? I am going to record it and take pictures
2007-07-26 19:54:07 · update #1
oh poo, it IS a hoax :( I go tmy hopes up...oh well, it will still be somethin gto see :) I feel dumb hehehe.
2007-07-26 20:00:03 · update #2
There are two hoax e-mails going round. One says Pluto will look as big as the Moon on July 27th (today). The other says Mars will look as big as the Moon on August 27th. The Mars hoax e-mail has been doing the rounds every summer since 2003, the Pluto version is new this year, but the text of the two is otherwise identical.
In 2003 the hoax bore a passing resemblance to the truth, as there was a very close approach of Mars to the Earth, the closest for 60,000 years on August 27th 2003.
Mars was at its brightest (magnitude -2.9. which is dimmer than Venus) on August 27th 2003. However it was nothing like the size of the Moon, as claimed, which was the eye-catching item in the e-mail of the time.
Every summer since, the story is rehashed, scarce altering a word except to allege the upcoming date of another close approach is 27 August 2004, 27 August 2005, 27 August 2006, and now 27 August 2007.
Mars makes close approaches once every 26 months as its year is 1.88 Earth years and the idea of annual close approaches is nonsense. There was no close approach in 2004 or 2006 therefore, indeed Mars was far away on the far side of the Sun, and hidden in its glare. The date in 2005 was October 30th and the date this year is 18th December 2007, but this year it will be more like 55 million miles not 34, and Mars will be no more than magnitude -1.64, only marginally brighter than Sirius.
Mars is twice the diameter of the Moon but even at its closest approach in December it will still be about 220 times as far away as the Moon, so there is no way that it can ever look as big as the Moon. How can an orange at 220 yards away look as big as a tomato held at arm's length?
If it did, it would have to be under a million miles away, and would cause havoc with the tides on earth and it would be on a probable collision course with the Moon or Earth or both.
Not a pleasant prospect, and not one to write up as a Sight to See, that you must not miss. The hoaxsters clearly have no scientific knowledge to understand what what they are saying would mean if it were true.
See Snopes.com link below, which has an article on the hoax, including the text of an e-mail circulating this summer. I suspect you may recognise it!
2007-07-27 00:59:32 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
No need to feel dumb, sweeie. A lot of people get taken in by this hoax.
If Mars ever got close enough to be the size of the Moon, gravitational disturbances would cause virtually all life on Earth to be wiped out, due to massive tectonic activity, huge tsunamis, volcanism on a scale never before seen, etc.
Mars will appear brighter than usual, but that's the only difference you'll see.
2007-07-26 21:07:53 · answer #2 · answered by Foxfire 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes Mars has two moons: Phobos and Deimos.
I hope you have a 75power telescope attached to your camera. This is a rerun of a false email. It's kind of the same as Orson Well's 'War Of The Worlds' isn't it.
If you think that a planet can suddenly get close to another planet on one day and then suddenly go away again, perhaps the best advice I can give you is for you to spend some time at the library and read some books in the nonfiction section for a change.
2007-07-26 20:12:48 · answer #3 · answered by Troasa 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
For us in New Zealand there are going to be two moons in June, June is a Blue Moon month. A Blue Moon month is when there are two full moons in the same month so for this to happen there must be a full moon at the beginning of the month to have one at the end of the month. This is sthe only way there will be two moons in the month and it happens only about 40 times for every 100 years.
2007-07-26 20:17:37 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
This is a hoax and appears to do the rounds every year.
2007-07-26 19:53:06 · answer #5 · answered by segunitb1 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
You mean when Mars comes closest to the sun while Earth does the opposite? it's supposed to be rare as, so I'm hoping ill see it, but i don't think it'll be much bigger than it is in the nighttime sky then it is today, since it's only a few kilometers difference.
2007-07-26 19:51:33 · answer #6 · answered by Eddyking4 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Hi. Mars may be close and bright but the size will still only be about 1/100th (or less) the size of the Moon.
2007-07-26 19:50:30 · answer #7 · answered by Cirric 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I didn't hear of it until you sent it to me. I was thinkin' it was a hoax, though.
2007-07-27 08:47:02 · answer #8 · answered by ~*Wifey of a Veteran*~ 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes, its possible, you will see it but very small, but only on the specific area or side of earth, the same thing that is happening with Earth Moon and Venus..
2007-07-26 20:08:05 · answer #9 · answered by R.A. 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
It is a hoax, sorry : -<
http://urbanlegends.about.com/b/a/175663.htm
2007-07-26 19:53:02 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋