quote:

ORIGINAL: Arpig

This is very interesting, unfortunatly it is also untrue, I am afraid it is just a hoax. The close approach happened 3 years ago, and unfortunatly, Mars did not appear the size of the moon, it only appeared slightly larger than usual.

http://www.hoax-slayer.com/mars-earth-close.html

http://space.about.com/cs/mars/a/marsclose.htm

Sorry.

quote:

ORIGINAL: MasterRenegade77

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


Mars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye .
Mars  will be easy to spot. At the
beginning of August it will rise in the east at  10p.m.
and reach its azimuth at about 3 a.m.

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 12:30a.m. That's  pretty
convenient to see something that no human being 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 this with your  children and grandchildren.

NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN