CELLSONIC /  27 AUGUST / MONDAY / THIS YEAR

WILD ANIMAL RESCUE CENTRE (PPSJ)  YOGYAKARTA

August 25, 2003: At 09:51 universal time (UT) on August 27th, Earth makes its closest approach to Mars in nearly 60,000 years. The two worlds, center-to-center, will be just 56 million kilometers apart--a short distance on the scale of the solar system. The last people to come so close to Mars were Neanderthals.

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Think about it: At the moment of closest approach one side of our planet will be closer to Mars than the other. Earth is about 12,756 km wide, so the difference--one side vs. the other--is trifling compared to the vast distance between the two worlds. But the fact remains that someone, somewhere will be the closest ever to Mars. Where?

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CELLSONIC /  27 AUGUST / MONDAY / THIS YEAR

WILD ANIMAL RESCUE CENTRE (PPSJ)  YOGYAKARTA

7pm - 5am

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 Every year around this time, an email circulates across the Internet speculating that on August 27th, Mars will look as big as the Moon in the sky. And every year, I go ahead and debunk it. Here's a link to last year's version. Once again, I'd like to inoculate all my Universe Today readers, to make sure you understand what's going on, and you're prepared to explain to your eager friends why this non-event isn't going to happen.

Say it with me. Mars won't look as big as the Moon on August 27th.

This strange hoax first surfaced on the Internet back in 2003. An email made the rounds with the following text:  

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

http://www.universetoday.com/2007/07/25/
will-the-mars-look-as-big-as-the-moon-on-august-27-nope/