Mars to be close to the Earth? Big as the moon?

[Taco John]

My wife sent me this... I don't know if it's true... Anybody hear anything about this, or is it a hoax?


Mars Spectacular - Large as MOON
Mars Spectacular

The Red Planet is about to be spectacular! This
month and next, Earth is
catching up with Mars in an encounter that will
culminate in the closest
approach between the two planets in recorded
history. The next time Mars may
come this close is in 2287. Due to the way Jupiter's
gravity tugs on Mars
and
perturbs its orbit, astronomers can only be certain
that Mars has not come
this
close to Earth in the Last 5,000 years, but it may
be as long as
60,000 years before it happens again.

The encounter will culminate on August 27th when
Mars comes to within
34,649,589
miles of Earth and will be (next to the moon) the
brightest object in the
night
sky. It will attain a magnitude of -2.9 and will
appear 25.11 arc seconds
wide.
At a modest 75-power magnification

Mars will look as large as the full moon to the
naked eye. Mars will be easy to spot. At the
beginning of August it will rise in the
east at 10 p.m. and reach
its azimuth at about 3 a.m.

By the end of August when the two planets are
closest, Mars will rise at
nightfall and reach its highest point in the sky at
12:30 a.m. That's pretty
convenient to see something that no human being has
seen in recorded history.
So, mark your calendar at the beginning of August to
see Mars grow progressively
brighter and brighter throughout the month.

Share this with your children and grandchildren as
no one alive today will ever see this again.

[Denver Crush]

This would be sweet! I hope its not a hoax.

[NYBroncoManiac]

According to Snopes, this is a hoax:

http://www.snopes.com/science/mars.asp

[Rock Chalk]

Well, its SORT of a hoax.

It wont be as large as the moon, EVER.

However, LAST YEAR Mars did come closer to Earth than it has since before human civilization and if you had a telescope or even binoculars, it was pretty spectacular.

I have received this email like 4 times this year and I keep telling people that it was LAST year Mars reached its closest point.

[Crushaholic]

Well, its SORT of a hoax.

It wont be as large as the moon, EVER.

However, LAST YEAR Mars did come closer to Earth than it has since before human civilization and if you had a telescope or even binoculars, it was pretty spectacular.

I have received this email like 4 times this year and I keep telling people that it was LAST year Mars reached its closest point.

As I read the other replies, I THOUGHT we went through this last year, and you confirmed that thinking. :)

[Pat Bowlen]

Anybody who honestly didn't know whether or not this was a lie needs to be slapped. I mean, seriously.

[broncos love]

Anybody who honestly didn't know whether or not this was a lie needs to be slapped. I mean, seriously.


Bowlen your wise sense once again takes the freefall.

[Pat Bowlen]

Bowlen your wise sense once again takes the freefall.
And once again I am unable to understand what the hell your post means.

[broncosteven]

It was last year not this year.

If you sit on a mirror you can see URanus.