MARS as twin to Moon

When Mars hits your eye like a big pizza pie

	Liz Clarke August 15 2010 at 12:56PM	Get IOL on your mobile at m.iol.co.za

Millions of people around the planet, including South Africans, have read the e-mail and seen the pictures of the moon and Mars side by side like blood brothers in the universe. It looks so real and convincing - and, yes, why shouldn't outer space put on a grand show that will have people on Earth gasping in wonder as the red planet makes its first close-quarter appearance in two million years - or is it three million? Try to convince people this simply won't happen and you might get the response "you'll be surprised." Already people are planning space parties for the momentous event with one ardent space follower group gathering in a field in Utah for a weekend celebration with more than 100 telescopes to be erected for the miracle. Continues Below ↓ For they believe that this month Mars and the moon will be more or less the same size in the night sky. While space scientists such as Rohan Astley at the Scienceworks planetarium in Melbourne will tell you "don't believe the e-mails; they're a load of rubbish", the believers are just as adamant that the unexpected is about to happen. The Mars-as-big-and-bright-as-the-moon ru-mour possibly began with an actual event, in 2003. On August 27 that year, Earth and Mars were closer than they'd been in nearly 60 000 years - just over three light-minutes apart. On that day astronomers such as University of KwaZulu-Natal's Andrew Collier (also working with the Hermanus Magnetic Observatory) had a field day talking about Mars at its closest. "It was certainly a spectacular sight," he recalls, "like a dot of flame in the night sky." But was Mars as big and bright as the moon? "Never," he says. "And unless something catastrophic happens, it never will be." The current hoax e-mail, dressed in tried and popular science speak, again says that Mars and the moon will be of equal size - until 2287 at least. Deborah Byrd of EarthSky, which represents an international voice of the world's leading scientists, sees it very differently. "I can't believe it's happening again. People are imploring us for information about this "amazing spectacle involving the red planet". "The latest version I saw actually includes a PowerPoint presentation, suggesting that Mars and Earth's moon will appear as a 'double moon' in late August." Can it be true? "No," says Byrd. "Mars can never appear as large as a full moon seen from Earth. In August 2010 Mars appears as a modestly bright star in the western night sky. Mars was substantially brighter earlier in the year when it came closer to Earth on January 27." This article was originally published on page 0 of Tribuneon August 15, 2010