No, Mars won't look as big as the moon this week

Joshua Jongsma | NorthJersey

Show Caption Hide Caption NASA one step closer to signs of life on Mars See what NASA's Curiosity rover discovered on Mars.

The moon won't face too much competition from Mars in the night sky next week, despite rumors to the contrary.

A hoax claims that Mars will look as big as the moon in the next Thursday, but don't be deceived. It's a popular hoax that has been around for more than 15 years, prominent enough to even spawn its own Wikipedia page. NASA also warned people about the hoax.

"If that were true, we'd be in big trouble given the gravitational pulls on Earth, Mars, and our Moon," NASA stated on its website about the false claim.

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This year is a big one for Mars, though. The red planet came closer than usual to Earth at 35.8 million miles. A "close approach" happens every 26 months, with the next one coming in October 2020.

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During the close approach Mars appears brighter in the sky and easier to see with a telescope or the naked eye. Despite the rumors that next week would be the best time to see Mars, the planet was actually already at its brightest from July 27 to 31, according to NASA.

Email: jongsma@northjersey.com

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