Howdy Y'all:

    What's the deal about Mars getting close?  In thew below quote, it says 
Mars will be the size of the moon!!!  ;-)

Regards,

Ken

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                     MARS SPECTACULAR!

    The Red Planet is about to be spectacular! 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

--- GEcho 1.02+