Mars and the Moon. Mars at its closest. Is it as big as the full moon? Er no...
Every year a ridiculous untruth circulates on the internet. It states that Mars comes closest to Earth in August and is as big as the full moon in the sky.
Well, Mars is at its closest now, not in August but in late January 2010 and again in March 2012. This image shows the full moon (overexposed and therefore featureless) and Mars....which is the tiny dot top right. This image has not been doctored in any way. Check the EXIF data.
A chance to clear up another urban myth. If the moon is this much brighter than Mars, and so bright that, by comparison, the stars can hardly be seen at all (a few tiny dots show if the image is expanded) what chance is there of seeing the stars in the sky when a picture is taken on the moon's surface? So, the conspiracy theory that we didn't really go to the moon, based in part on the 'where are the stars in the pictures?' argument, doesn't stand up. In fact, had I seen stars in the moon mission images, then I would have been suspicious.
Mars and the Moon. Mars at its closest. Is it as big as the full moon? Er no...
Every year a ridiculous untruth circulates on the internet. It states that Mars comes closest to Earth in August and is as big as the full moon in the sky.
Well, Mars is at its closest now, not in August but in late January 2010 and again in March 2012. This image shows the full moon (overexposed and therefore featureless) and Mars....which is the tiny dot top right. This image has not been doctored in any way. Check the EXIF data.
A chance to clear up another urban myth. If the moon is this much brighter than Mars, and so bright that, by comparison, the stars can hardly be seen at all (a few tiny dots show if the image is expanded) what chance is there of seeing the stars in the sky when a picture is taken on the moon's surface? So, the conspiracy theory that we didn't really go to the moon, based in part on the 'where are the stars in the pictures?' argument, doesn't stand up. In fact, had I seen stars in the moon mission images, then I would have been suspicious.