An article spreading virally across the Internet claims that a “cosmic event” that only happens every 35,000 years will occur on July 27th where the planet Mars will appear as big as the moon in the night sky.
Bogus claims related to astronomy are particularly prolific on the Internet, and the claim that Mars will appear as big as the moon on a particular night is one popular incarnation of nonsense we have to deal with almost every year.
The 2018 version of this hoax, that claims the phenomenon is down to a cosmic event that only occurs every 35,000 years, is going viral thanks to an article published on scienceinfo.news, an excerpt from which is below –
A cosmic event that only happens every 35,000 years: July 27, 2018, the planet Mars will be as big as the Moon
On July 27, around midnight, do not forget to raise your head and look into the sky: Mars will be the most brilliant star in the sky. This is because it will have an apparent diameter as big as the Full Moon! It will be possible to observe, with the naked eye, a cosmic phenomenon which will allow the inhabitants of the Earth to behold … two moons!
To be clear, it’s not true. While the evening of July 27th does present some celestial treats – such as a total lunar eclipse that should turn the moon a blood red color – Mars appearing as big as the moon is not one of them.
It is true that Mars will be extremely close to Earth at the end of July, especially on the 30th and 31st. As a result it will appear brighter in the sky. During this time, Mars will be approximately 35.78 million miles away from Earth, according to EarthSky.org. The last time Mars was closer to Earth was in 2003.
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However that is nowhere near close enough for Mars to appear even remotely the size of the moon. For most spectators, only a minor difference in the appearance on Mars will be noticeable with the naked eye.
The claim made by the ScienceNews.info article that Mars will not be this close for another 35,000 years is simply nonsense. Mars will again be just as close to the Earth in September 2035.
Please don’t share nonsense articles that make the persistently fake claim that Mars will appear as big as the moon in the sky. It won’t.