I received an email stating that on August 27, 2007 at approximately 12:30 am it will look like the Earth has 2 moons. Apparently MARS will look like a moon in our night time sky. Mars will be at it's closest point to Earth and we won't see this again in our lifetime....
2007-08-21 16:21:59 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Please NO smart @$$ answers.
2007-08-21 16:22:37 · update #1
It´s a hoax email that has been floating around for a while now. Mars can never look as bright as the moon. It would mean that Mars could somehow jump its orbit and get within 1 million kilometers of earth. Mars, in its natural orbit, cannot get closer to earth than 33 million kilometers. Sorry... Don´t know what kind of sicko gets his kicks off of spreading this kind of stuff around.
-edit-
On August 27 2007 Mars will be 176 million kilometers from earth and look this dramatic:
http://space.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/wspace?tbody=499&vbody=399&month=8&day=27&year=2007&hour=00&minute=00&fovmul=1&rfov=2&bfov=30&porbs=1&showsc=1
The closest Mars will get this years is 88 million km. This on December 19th. And Mars will look THIS dramatic:
http://space.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/wspace?tbody=499&vbody=399&month=12&day=19&year=2007&hour=00&minute=00&fovmul=1&rfov=2&bfov=30&porbs=1&showsc=1
2007-08-21 16:39:38 · answer #1 · answered by DrAnders_pHd 6 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Mars varies from 60 million to 153 million miles from earth.
Even at it's closest it looks like a small red speck.
The moon,though much smaller than mars,at 239 thousand miles mars is completely overwhelmed by the moon.
2007-08-22 01:46:32 · answer #2 · answered by Billy Butthead 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No
You are experiencing a hoax.
Mars will be bright, but the moon at Full is -12 and Mars is -2 that's a BIG difference.
Even in a telescope you won't see much of a disk on Mars.
2007-08-21 16:50:39 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Mars was at it's closest to Earth in several thousand years in (I think) 2003. The current report about the 27th of August is false. Mars won't be anywhere close to Earth at that time.
The original, in 2003 (again, I think it was that year), was correct, except it took a 100X telescope to make Mars look as large as the moon does without optical aid.
2007-08-21 16:27:52 · answer #4 · answered by David A 5 · 4⤊ 0⤋
That seems like an exaggeration. Even when Mars is at its closest point to the Earth, it is still very far away. It will look like a bright star.
2007-08-21 16:27:47 · answer #5 · answered by John B 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
not trying to be smart *** but absolutely not.That stupid crap has circulated for years now.Not anything,nothing,zero,zilch,nada,mark it SPAM.It is simply bullshit.Mars is so much further away than the moon.The tidal effects of another planet coming close enough to appear as large as the moon would like ly rip the planet apart.mars will EVER,not in a million orbits,appear remotely as large as the moon.Never.
2007-08-21 17:37:49 · answer #6 · answered by nobodinoze 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Where is everyone getting this? I have never even heard of before until last week, and like 20 cases of it, what the?
As others said, this originally happend in 2003. And then it still wasn't that big.
2007-08-21 16:48:24 · answer #7 · answered by Andrew 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Mars will be at its closest and brightest at that time.
All the rest is just unfounded "shouting & armwaving".
2007-08-22 10:23:34 · answer #8 · answered by Irv S 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
That email has gone out every year for llike 6 years maybe more so I would say no its not true.
2007-08-21 17:08:08 · answer #9 · answered by acot_anthonym 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Thanks for telling me, I'll look for the red spot, but it'll be smaller than the moon by a wikid lot. So Sunday night after midnight I guess?
2007-08-21 16:27:54 · answer #10 · answered by winter_new_hampshire 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋