Is this true about Mars?

[deluxe1668]

I got this email from a friend...<br /><br />The Red Planet is about to be spectacular! This <br />month and next, Earth is catching up with Mars in an <br />encounter that will culminate in the closest <br />approach between the two planets in recorded <br />history. <br /><br />The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287. <br />Due to the way Jupiter's gravity tugs on Mars and <br />perturbs its orbit, astronomers can only be certain <br /><br />that Mars has not come this close to Earth in the <br />last 5,000 years, but it may be as long as 60,000 <br />years before it happens again. <br /><br />The encounter will culminate on August 27th when <br />Mars comes to within 34,649,589 miles of Earth and <br />will be (next to the moon) the brightest object in <br />the night sky. It will attain a magnitude of -2.9 and <br />will appear 25.11 arc seconds wide. At a modest <br />75-power magnification <br /><br />Mars will look as large as the full moon to the <br />naked eye. Mars will be easy to spot. At the <br />beginning of August it will rise in the east at <br />10 p.m. and reach its azimuth at about 3 a.m. <br /><br />By the end of August when the two planets are <br />closest, <br />Mars will rise at nightfall and reach its highest <br />point in the sky at 12:30a.m. That's pretty <br />convenient to see something that no human being <br />has seen in recorded history. So, mark your calendar <br />at the beginning of August to see Mars grow <br />progressively brighter and brighter throughout the <br />month. <br /><br />NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN<br /><br />Is that true???????????????? Thanks for anyone help!!

 

[le3119]

I remember this happened in August 2003, in fact on google there are tons of references - but not in 2005. I guess this email is a whole 2 years old. Yes, in August 03 Mars was bright and big.

 

[acid]

here this might help u a little<br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/07jul_marshoax.htm

 

[deluxe1668]

Thanks...

 

[Leovinus]

Will this email ever die? It's like a virus. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[lunatio_gordin]

It'd die faster if more people knew it was impossible...

 

[mooware]

What's more scary is that people believe it

 

[majornature]

<b>WOW!!!</b> I can't wait to see it. I will take pictures of this spectacular event!!! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font size="2" color="#14ea50"><strong><font size="1">We are born.  We live.  We experiment.  We rot.  We die.  and the whole process starts all over again!  Imagine That!</font><br /><br /><br /><img id="6e5c6b4c-0657-47dd-9476-1fbb47938264" style="width:176px;height:247px" src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/Content/images/store/14/4/6e5c6b4c-0657-47dd-9476-1fbb47938264.Large.jpg" alt="blog post photo" width="276" height="440" /><br /></strong></font> </div>

 

[termite]

Science@NASA Feature Stories Podcast : Beware The Mars Hoax (3:08) is a short audio about this available,for free, at iTunes Store's Podcasts libary along with several other intresting articles from NASA.

 

[cyrostir]

why dont we attach a long rope to mars, and pull it closer!!<br /><br />sounds like a good idea, eh?

 

[Leovinus]

http://www.snopes.com/science/mars.asp<br /><br />They even mention "space.com" <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[nexium]

Rope, no: Bungee cord maybe. Earth orbits faster than Mars, so the jerk when the rope pulled tight would damage both planets badly. A bungee cord might allow Mars to accellerate slowly, to minimise damage. My guess is Mars would orbit Earth, and the bungee cord would rap around Earth until the bungee cord snagged on Earth's moon. When Mars got close enough, the two moons of Mars would hit Earth's surface distroying all life on Earth. Not a good idea. The bungee cord would need to be millions of times stronger than our best rope, so we can't do this with present technology. Please comment, refute or embellish. Neil

 

[joshbe]

it WILL NOT be as large as the full moon