Quite a long time ago the entire Internet was filled with articles about close rapprochement Mars with Earth. It is even indicated exact time, when the planet Mars approaches the Earth and that, supposedly, in the night sky it will be the brightest luminary along with the Moon.

Let's figure out if August 27, 2015 (2016, 2017) will happen closest approach Mars with Earth and will it be as bright as the Moon in the night sky?!

Here's what they write:

On August 27 at 00:30, everyone will be able to see an unusual sight in the night sky. Planet Mars will pass only 34.65 thousand/34.65 million miles (55 thousand km/55 million km.) from the earth. To the naked eye, the planet will be visible as a full Moon. It will look like two moons above the earth! The next time Mars will be this close to Earth will only be in 2287.

From year to year, closer to August 27, hysteria on this topic is growing on the Internet. Maybe this year Mars will approach the Earth at its shortest distance.

But of course there is no rapprochement and cannot be, just as such events cannot happen with an accuracy of hours and minutes. However, millions of people fall for this bait every year and at the appointed time go out to watch Mars approach the Earth in the night sky. And Mars remains the same as the previous night - a bright reddish-orange point body.

I noticed a tendency that people who post such news somehow embellish them and supplement them with new, previously unknown facts.

Information about the minimum approach of Mars to the Earth

Normal opposition, that is, Mars will approach Earth at a distance of about 60 million kilometers(usually distance more than 100 million km.). The confrontation is repeated every 26 months. Great oppositions are even rarer; the next one will occur in 2018 and then Mars will approach Earth by 57 million kilometers. It occurs every 15-17 years.

So be vigilant and do not be fooled by such news.

Quite a long time ago the entire Internet was filled with articles aboutclose approach of Mars to Earth. They even indicate the exact time when the planet Mars will approach the Earth and that, supposedly, in the night sky it will be the brightest luminary along with the Moon.

Here's what they write:

"On August 27 at 00:30, everyone will be able to see an unusual sight in the night sky. The planet Mars will pass only 34.65 thousand/34.65 million miles (55 thousand km/55 million km.) from the earth. To the naked eye, the planet will be visible as a full moon. It will look like two moons above the earth! The next time Mars will be this close to Earth will not be until 2287."

From year to year, closer to August 27, hysteria on this topic is growing on the Internet. Maybe this year Mars will approach the Earth at its shortest distance?
This message is called the Martian hoax.

WHAT IS THE MARTIAN MYSTIFICATION:

Martian hoax is a hoax that occurred in 2003. An email sent to each other claimed that on August 27, 2003, Mars would appear larger than the full Moon at 75x magnification. It is not clear why, but the clarification regarding the magnification of the red planet by 75 times was happily ignored by Internet users and quoted the message without this important clarification.

In 2003, Mars actually had its smallest distance from Earth in the last 59 thousand years. After all, before this, Mars approached Earth at its minimum distance on September 24, 57617 BC, more than 59 thousand years ago! Then the distance between the planets was 55.718 million kilometers, and in 2003 it was a little more - 55.758 million kilometers.

At the same time, in Martian hoax the distance indicated was about a thousand times less than the real one. After all, a distance of 34 thousand miles is less than from the Earth to the Moon.

In reality, on August 27, 2003, people could see the full Moon in the sky and a bright point nearby, because Mars was the brightest “star” in the sky that night.

Since then this Martian hoax pops up almost every year, and August 27, 2015 is no exception.

However, astronomers say that on August 27, 2015, Mars the size of the Moon will not be visible in the sky, because this is impossible under the circumstances that exist in the solar system. If Mars were at a distance sufficient for such an event, its gravity would have a devastating effect on our planet.

The diameter of Mars is approximately twice the diameter of our satellite. This means that in order to have approximately the same apparent size in the sky, the red planet must be twice as far away more distance from the Earth to the Moon.
It should be taken into account that Mars has nine times large mass than the Moon. He would influence blue planet Its gravity is twice that of the Moon. This would have caused unprecedented cataclysms on our planet.

P.S. I would like to note that many people are looking forward to a similar event that happens almost every year - the Supermoon. This is the full moon when the Moon is closest to the Earth. At the same time, the lunar ball visually appears much larger than usual. In 2015 this event will happen a little over a month later than the Mars hoax, so we're waiting Supermoon 2015.

"Supermoon(in English SuperMoon ) - this is the phase of the full moon (full moon), during which the lunar ball in the visual sky appears much larger than during normal full moons. According to NASA measurements, the lunar disk is increasing by about 15% and brightening by about 30%.

The astronomical phenomenon, which is a new or full moon that coincides with the Moon being at perigee - the point of its orbit closest to the Earth - could be observed in January, February, March, and can also be observed in August, September and October of the coming year.

Scientists have calculated the dates of the 2015 supermoons

The first supermoon could be seen on January 20, 2015 - then the new Moon. New moons on February 18 and March 20 also became supermoons. Full moons will also coincide with lunar perigee on August 29, September 28 and October 27.

The closest supermoon of 2015 will be the moon on September 28, which will approach Earth at a distance of 356,896 kilometers. Moreover, the September full moon will give earthlings a total lunar eclipse, completing the series “ blood moons", which began on April 15.

Red like blood Mars, fourth planet solar system, known to man since time immemorial.

Even in ancient times, five “wandering stars” were noticed in the sky - planets that, unlike most fixed stars, moved, sometimes in bizarre ways.

Many years passed before astronomers established the true nature of these luminaries. By that time they already had proper names, inherited from the ancient Roman gods.

It is no coincidence that the planet, which stood out in the starry sky with its red, if you like, bloody color, was named after the god of war - Mars. In the starry sky, Mars is in different periods looks different: it can be bright and therefore especially noticeable, but it can also be not very bright, and then it competes with it bright Star in the constellation Scorpio Antares (translated into Russian as “rival of Mars”).

Why is this happening?
Before answering this question, let us remember that all the planets of the solar system shine by reflected light. sunlight- how closer planet towards the Sun, the brighter it is in the Earth's sky. This is the first thing.

And secondly, the planets move around the Sun, and their mutual arrangement V outer space changes all the time.

The distance between the Earth and some other planet, in our case Mars, varies within certain limits: from maximum to minimum.

Approximately every two years, the Earth and Mars, moving in their orbits, approach each other. Such rapprochements are called confrontations.

An important caveat should be made here: if the orbits of the Earth and Mars were circular and lay strictly in the same plane, then opposition would occur strictly periodically, and Mars would always approach the Earth at the same distance.

However, it is not. Although the orbital planes of the planets are quite close, and the Earth’s orbit is almost circular, the orbit of Mars is elongated, or, to put it language of science, - the eccentricity of the Martian orbit is quite large.

This circumstance leads to the fact that the Earth and Mars come closer to different distances during different oppositions. They range from 100 to 60 million km.

If the planets come closer to a distance of less than 60 million km, then such oppositions are called great.
They occur every 15 or 17 years and have always been used by astronomers to make intensive observations of the red planet.

However, the confrontation of 2003 turned out to be not just great, but the greatest; an event the likes of which have not happened for 60 thousand years!

The closest approach of the planets occurred on August 27 at 9:52 a.m. Universal Time (UT).
Moreover, the distance between them was 55.8 million km or 0.373 astronomical units. This approach record will be “broken” only in 284 years.

Below is a fairly clear illustration of the convergence of Earth and Mars - changes visible dimensions Red Planet.

Thousands of people around the world at the end of August current year stood in line to look at Mars through a telescope. Impressions of the planet varied; Some observers were disappointed that Mars looked rather blurry.

Those who have seen photographs of the planet taken with spacecraft, were generally upset by their own observations: nothing like this could be seen even with the most powerful ground-based telescopes.

However, most people were already satisfied with the fact that they had a unique opportunity to see the rarest cosmic phenomenon: “This won’t happen for almost three hundred years!..”

Mars is one of the planets closest to us. In this indicator, only Venus surpasses it. In the summer of 2018, the Red Planet can be found in the night sky without any problems.

Experts from the nplus1.ru portal report that closer to the beginning of August 2018 it will be possible to observe special phenomenon— maximum approach of Mars to the Earth. In astronomy this is called opposition. This is a rare event because it occurs approximately once every 15 years.

Why will Mars become visible?

In its normal state, Mars is visible very poorly because it reflects very little sun rays. At the end of July and beginning of August it will be visible even to the naked eye simply because it will be very close to us. It will be a great occasion look at the red planet, and without resorting to special equipment.

Finding a planet in the night sky is not difficult if you follow the rules. According to astronomers' calculations, the convergence will occur on July 27. Best visibility will continue until the 31st of the same month. At the beginning of August it will still be possible to see big Mars, but it will gradually “fade out”.

July 27 - day lunar eclipse, so we can see two at once in one day interesting events. As for the astrological meaning of the opposition of Mars, not everything is as rosy as we would like. In its energy, Mars is the ruler of aggression, strength, cruelty, and dynamics. Even his constant companions are called “Fear” and “Horror”. July 27 and the week or week and a half following this day will be extremely dangerous for those who cannot restrain their emotions. For impulsive people It's better to stay close to the calm ones. These days are better spent physical activity and privacy.

How to find Mars in the night sky

Usually Mars is very dim, but already in June it will be almost as bright as Jupiter, which is video with the naked eye. By July 27, Mars will be almost twice as bright and will overtake Jupiter. It will be difficult to confuse Mars with another object in the sky because it will have a noticeable reddish tint.

The further north you live, the closer Mars will be to the horizon for you and, accordingly, it will be more difficult to see it. Alas, about Arctic Circle you won't see the red planet at all. In mid-latitudes, Mars will be quite low to the horizon, but quite visible and distinguishable. The further south you go, the better the visibility of the planet will be. The best time to observe is after one in the morning.

The easiest way to find Mars is to use a compass. You need to accurately determine which direction is east and which direction is south. Between these directions there will be the most bright point in the sky. She is precisely Mars. The planet will be located closer to the south, especially during the period of opposition. Once again, we remind you that in mid-latitudes Mars is very low to the horizon, so do not look for it high above your head.

Mars will be retrograde until the end of summer. This period is very important from the point of view of astrology and astronomy. The planet will move in reverse direction just starting from the day of the great confrontation - July 27. This movement will be valid until August 27. You can find out from our other article. Good luck and don't forget to press the buttons and

Approaches of our planets or oppositions occur on average once every two years, since Mars has a longer orbit. Besides, Martian orbit more elongated than ours, therefore in different years, at the moment our planets meet, the distance between them varies. In the years when it is minimal, the so-called "Great Controversies"

One such Great Opposition was on August 27, 2003, when Mars came within 55 million km or 34.85 million miles of Earth.

It was then that the Martian hoax was born, which can be considered the most effective campaign for popularizing observational astronomy. Although everyone who expected to see Mars the size of the Moon was deceived, the hoax lives on to this day, now in its 11th year.

I wouldn’t even start this topic, but people ask in the comments on VKontakte, journalists write, friends ask again...

Therefore I answer: no! The messages that are still floating around the Internet contain a critical error: three zeros are missing. They promise Mars at a distance of 34.85 thousand miles, but in reality it was 34.85 million miles. And only in 2003.

In 2014, the closest approach to Mars took place on April 14, when it passed 92 million km from us. The opposition took place six days earlier (due to the elliptical orbit of Mars).

At this moment, Mars was approximately twice as far away as it was on August 27, 2003. Those. 11 years ago this star was several times brighter. I'm sure only very experienced astronomers would notice the difference.

Well, and finally, a little banal mathematics.
The diameter of Mars is 6800 km, the diameter of the Moon is 3480 km. The Moon is 380 thousand km (238 thousand miles) away, or 6.8 times further than the promised Mars. Thus, Mars at a distance of 34.85 thousand miles, when viewed from Earth, will be bigger than the moon approximately 14 times. Or like this:

And one more thing: such rapprochements do not happen IMMEDIATELY. For example, comets approach for months, the largest and brightest of them become visible over the course of weeks: first they approach, then they move away. Thus, if on August 27th Mars could become the size of the Moon, then on August 26th it would be 3/4 of the Moon, on August 25th it would be half the Moon, on August 24th it would be 1/4 the Moon, and so on .

About earthquakes, eruptions, tsunamis and other disasters that would cause gravitational interaction our planets at such a distance, I won’t say anything.

Returning to real world Let us note that since April 14, the distance between our planets has been constantly growing, the Earth is rapidly running away from its red neighbor. Now the distance between us is approximately 204 million km.

What should those who want to see exactly Mars and exactly August 27 do? Wait until evening, find a taller building in the city with windows facing southwest. Mars will rise today around 14:00 and, of course, will not be visible during the day. There is a chance to catch it only before sunset - around 21:00-22:00 near the horizon, where it will be paired with Saturn. They can be distinguished by color: Mars is orange, Saturn is yellow.

The program can help in searching for Mars in the sky Stellarium . For smartphones and tablets, you can purchase or download special astronomical applications: StarWalk iPhone, StarWalk iPad, Google Sky Map . They're useful for more than just viewing Mars. There is always something interesting to be found in a clear night sky, and the further away you are from big cities, the more you can find.

Clear skies!