http://www.snopes.com/science/mars.asp
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/07jul_marshoax.htm
There's a rumor about Mars going around the internet. Here are some
snippets from a widely-circulated email message:
"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."
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.
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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.
Sixty-nine million km is good. At that distance, Mars shines
brighter than anything else in the sky except the Sun, the Moon and
Venus. The visual magnitude of Mars on Oct. 30, 2005, will be -2.3.
Even inattentive sky watchers will notice it, rising at sundown and
soaring overhead at midnight.
You might remember another encounter with Mars, about two years
ago, on August 27, 2003. That was the closest in recorded history,
by a whisker, and millions of people watched as the distance
between Mars and Earth shrunk to 56 million km. This October's
encounter, at 69 million km, is similar. To casual observers, Mars
will seem about as bright and beautiful in 2005 as it was in
2003.
Although closest approach is still months away, Mars is already
conspicuous in the early morning. Before the sun comes up, it's the
brightest object in the eastern sky, really eye-catching. If you
have a telescope, even a small one, point it at Mars. You can see
the bright icy South Polar Cap and strange dark markings on the
planet's surface.
