Could someone please explain what will be taking place that makes is look like there will be two moons tonight

Question

When, where, and what time will be best for viewing?

Thanks. Also when might this happen again. Will my children be able to see it in their life time?

Answer 1

There will NOT be two Moons tonight. There is only ever ONE Moon. A hoax email has been circulating on the internet for the past four years saying there will be two Moons, due to a misinterpretation of an event which happened on August 27 2003. On that date, Mars was the closest it had been to Earth in over 60,000 years; it will not be that close again for over 800 years. It was not any bigger than a bright star to the naked eye on that date; a telescope was needed to see any detail.

Currently Mars is much farther away, appearing like a first magnitude star near Aldebaran in the constellation Taurus. It rises around 1 a.m. and is visible in the East the rest of the night. It will in fact be close to the Moon on September 4, but 1/230 the size of the Moon: a pinpoint to the naked eye. It will be closest to Earth this year on December 19, though nowhere near as close as it was in 2003.

By coincidence, there is a total eclpse of the Moon tonight, visible in western North America just before dawn, and out over the Pacific to Australia and eastern Asia. When the eclipse is total, the Moon will probably appear to be blood red, but it's just our same old Moon, NOT Mars!

Answer 2

The total lunar eclipse, the second this year, will be visible in North and South America, especially in the West. People in the Pacific islands, eastern Asia, Australia and New Zealand also will be able to view it if skies are clear.

People in Europe, Africa or the Middle East, who had the best view of the last total lunar eclipse in March, won't see this one because the moon will have set when the partial eclipse begins at 4:51 a.m. EDT. The full eclipse will begin an hour later at 5:52 a.m. EDT.

The full eclipse will be visible across the United States, but East Coast viewers will only have about a half-hour to see it before the sun begins to rise and the moon sets. Skywatchers in the West will get the full show.

The next total lunar eclipse occurs Feb. 21, 2008, and will be visible from the Americas, Europe and Asia.

It is just an eclipse so it will not look like there are two moons. Sorry to disappoint.

Answer 3

"The Red Planet is about to be spectacular."
"Earth is catching up with Mars [for] the closest approach between the two planets in recorded history."
"On August 27th ? Mars will look as large as the full moon."
And finally, "NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN."
Those are snippets from a widely-circulated email. Only the first sentence is true. The Red Planet is about to be spectacular. The rest is a hoax.
Here are the facts: Earth and Mars are converging for a close encounter this year on October 30th at 0319 Universal Time. Distance: 69 million kilometers. To the unaided eye, Mars will look like a bright red star, a pinprick of light, certainly not as wide as the full Moon.
Disappointed? Don't be. If Mars did come close enough to rival the Moon, its gravity would alter Earth's orbit and raise terrible tides

This was an article my friend sent me..It was said that Mars was supposed to be as large as the moon and now is being said it's a hoax so just to key ya in. :)
Dam* I was all kinds of excited! Oh well according to this article it wouldn't be a good thing.

Answer 4

Sorry Carol,
This piece of total misinformation surfaces every year about the time that Mars gets close to earth in it's orbit. It originated from a less than bright reporter who got his facts totally wrong when quoting a Scientist about the Mars approach many years ago. Of course, people jumped on it right away and the thing keeps popping up every year. Why is it that, when it comes to Astronomy events, people will believe just about anything?
Mars is in fact visible right now and will be for most of the rest of the year.
Right now it is low above the eastern horizon after midnight and looks like a bright, slightly red star. You'll need a Telescope to see any details.

Adolph

Answer 5

I saw a message on the internet saying Mars will be close to the earth and it will look like there is two moons in the sky.

This is not true, even at its closest to Earth Mars will never be even close to the size of the moon in the sky, it will just appear as a very bright star.

Answer 6

It's a lunar eclipse. It will look like two moons but one will be the planet Mars. It will never happen again in our life time. I think they said the next one will be about 2287,
On the East Coast where I live; it will be between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. Tuesday morning. They say the people who are in California will have a better view.
It will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. This will cultivate on Aug. 27 when Mars comes within 34.65M miles of earth. It will look like the earth has 2 moons. Check where you live to see what time you will be able to see it.

Answer 7

lunar eclipse. it's when the earth's shadow passes over the moon. the 2nd one this year

it's supposed to happen at 4:51a (eastern daylight time) for the partial and at 5:52a for the full eclipse. check the time where you are. I live in az so eastern daylight time is 3 hours ahead of me-meaning I'll have to go outside at 1:50a for the partial and 2:52 am for the full.

here is the link yahoo had posted. hope your kids get to see it. I'll be at work so i will be taking pics for my kids to see.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070826/ap_on_sc/lunar_eclipse

Answer 8

that whole thing is a myth. It went around a few years ago and now its back. someone is sending emails saying that mars is going to appear as large as the moon, but its not true.

Answer 9

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Answer 10

A lunar eclipse is on Tuesday early in the morning. Here this tells about it http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070826/ap_on_sc/lunar_eclipse