Tag Archive for 'Mars'

Mars As Big As Moon – Never

Published on August 28, 2010 in Astronomical Events. View Comments Tags: , .
Taken by Ron Dantowiz

This image was taken at 24 July 2003 by Ron Dantowiz and it was clear that Mars was by no means as BIG as Moon


MARK YOUR DIARY/CALENDAR

ONLY ONCE IN YOUR LIFETIME

Two moons on 27th August 2010 .

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It will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. This will cultivate on Aug. 27 when Mars comes within 34.65M miles off earth.

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It will look like the earth has 2 moons. The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287. Share this with your friends as NO ONE ALIVE TODAY will ever see it again.

Many have received this email about the imminent great astronomical scene of the Mars which is claimed to happen tonight and to be as big as our Moon. The email is only right about one things – the distance.

Please let me crack this myth step-by-step if you allow me.

This so-called Mars hoax started since 2003 when Mars was closest to Earth in this century at 27th August 2003 where the distance was only 55 million km, the nearest in 60,000 years. During that time, Mars would look about 75 times smaller than the Moon. According to Science@NASA, in 2003, someone reasoned that if you put in a 75x eyepiece into your telescope, Mars would look as big as the full Moon as to the naked eyes.

What happened next was that someone who decided to pass this message around was a bit lazy and truncated the magnification part and the year. And the result was “It will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. This will cultivate on Aug. 27 ……” which is what you received in your inbox.

So I hope that you are now clear about this fuss. A picture worths thousand words. Check out the photo below to get a better idea of the sizes of Mars and Moon.


The Moon, Venus and Mars by F.Espenak

Moon at the middle of picture, to its one o'clock is Venus and to its five o'clock is Mars.


The only advantage I can think of this message is that it encourages people to get out from their sealed room and check out the gorgeous night skies.

Further reading:  The Mutating Mars Hoax at Science@NASA, Distance From Earth to Mars @ Universe Today

End of The Mars Show?

Published on January 11, 2008 in Astronomical Events. View Comments Tags: , , .

That’s totally sad as the chance that 2007 WD5 will hit Mars is dropped to 0.01%. Let’s hope the 1 in 10,000 odd will come true. Anyway, I will still setup my planetary setup (LX90 + QHY5) to monitor the Mars. Please hit.

More info at NEO, JPL, NASA

NASA’s Future Plans

Published on January 6, 2008 in NASA. View Comments Tags: , , , .

In the next 20 years, NASA will be laying the groundwork for sending humans not only beyond Earth’s orbit, but further into to space than they’ve ever been. The next key steps are:

  • Complete the International Space Station and retire the Space Shuttle by 2010
  • Begin robotic missions to the moon by 2008 and return people there by 2020
  • Continue robotic exploration of Mars and the Solar System
  • Develop a crew exploration vehicle and other technologies required to send people beyond low Earth orbit.

Though nearly 50 years old, NASA is only beginning the most exciting part of its existence.

Source:NASA

Mars Meets Saturn On 17 June 2006

Published on June 10, 2006 in Astronomical Events. View Comments Tags: , .

Saturn By Stephen Shamilton on 7/2/2006Thursday, June 15th, is a special night. En route to Saturn, Mars will pass directly in front of the Beehive. Ready your binoculars or even a telescope now! Red Mars is about 16 times brighter than the surrounding stars. “It’ll look like a red supernova has gone off inside the cluster–a wonderful photo-op for amateur astronomers”, Spaceweather.com said.

Continue reading ‘Mars Meets Saturn On 17 June 2006′