Able to view Mars? Mars will appear as big as the moon?

[Spinning]

I got this sent to me. I check snopes.com and they say it is true but then again who knows...But if it is I plan to be out there looking into the night sky


>MARS WILL APPEAR AS BIG AS THE MOON!
>
>
>
>MARK AUGUST 27th ON YOUR CALENDAR
>
>MARS WILL APPEAR AS BIG AS THE MOON!
>
>FIRST TIME IN AT LEAST 5,000 YEARS!
>
>
>Never again in your lifetime will the Red Planet
>be so spectacular!
>
>This month and next, Earth is catching up with
>Mars, 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.
>
>On August 27, Mars will come within 34,649,589
>miles 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, Mars
>will rise in the east at 10 p.m. and reach its
>azimuth at about 3 a.m. But
>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 when it comes to seeing
>something that no human 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 with your friends, children and
>grandchildren. No one alive today
>will ever see this again!
>


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[MosMom]

Cool! That is my daughter's birthday and she is having a sleepover so we'll definitely have something to do. I just hope it is clear skies!

 

[holycow]

My DS and I saw it this morning when we left at 5:30am

it was quite bright already...I used my regular binocs...but it really didn't help much....very cool!

HC

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

it's true. click here

 

[mickey65]

I have been watching it on clear nights here. Can't wait for the 27th though when it is really big!

 

[Silky]

The brightness of MARS will make it easily seen, but it won't even come close to being as large as the moon.

 

[minniepumpernickel]

Yes, I think that silky is right! It should be really cool, though! Even without a telescope, and just binoculars it should be brighter than what we are used to for the planets!

I'm going to go to a local astronomy club's meeting and get a glimpse with their really good telescopes.

Happy viewing!