# Mars has certainly been bright over the past few days **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 30, 2007, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-has-certainly-been-bright-over-the-past-few-days/431742 "2007-12-30T22:47:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2007, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-has-certainly-been-bright-over-the-past-few-days/431742/1 "2007-12-30T22:47:40Z")
I’ve been admiring it each night while out walking. I know that it was at opposition last week. How much longer will we get these great views? ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2007, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-has-certainly-been-bright-over-the-past-few-days/431742/2 "2007-12-30T22:53:53Z")
The view have been great, haven’t they? I’m eagerly awaiting January 31st! ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2007, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-has-certainly-been-bright-over-the-past-few-days/431742/3 "2007-12-30T23:16:41Z")
What happens January 31st? ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-has-certainly-been-bright-over-the-past-few-days/431742/4 "2007-12-31T00:01:13Z")
[QUOTE=FloatyGimpy] I’m eagerly awaiting January 31st! [/QUOTE] Yes, what is happening on 31 January? ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-has-certainly-been-bright-over-the-past-few-days/431742/5 "2007-12-31T00:27:04Z")
Let’s put it this way: if you had plans to visit the Red Planet around then, you might want to re-schedule. ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-has-certainly-been-bright-over-the-past-few-days/431742/6 "2007-12-31T00:37:00Z")
Oops, sorry. [http://www.huliq.com/45358/astronomers-monitor-asteroid-pass-near-mars](http://www.huliq.com/45358/astronomers-monitor-asteroid-pass-near-mars) ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-has-certainly-been-bright-over-the-past-few-days/431742/7 "2007-12-31T02:42:25Z")
[QUOTE=FloatyGimpy] Oops, sorry. [http://www.huliq.com/45358/astronomers-monitor-asteroid-pass-near-mars](http://www.huliq.com/45358/astronomers-monitor-asteroid-pass-near-mars) [/QUOTE] I see. We’ll presumably continue to get good views of Mars whether or not the asteroid hits it. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-has-certainly-been-bright-over-the-past-few-days/431742/8 "2007-12-31T03:01:09Z")
“No one would have believed in the early years of the 21st century that our world was being watched by intelligences greater than our own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns, _they_ observed and studied, the way a man with a microscope might scrutinize the creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water…” ---
**Author:** ![dotchan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@dotchan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dotchan)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-has-certainly-been-bright-over-the-past-few-days/431742/9 "2007-12-31T03:08:38Z")
On January 31, there’s supposed to be an Earth-shattering kaboom. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-has-certainly-been-bright-over-the-past-few-days/431742/10 "2007-12-31T03:16:57Z")
[QUOTE=Cunctator] Yes, what is happening on 31 January? [/QUOTE] It will be THE SIZE OF THE FULL MOON!!! THIS IS A ONCE IN A LIFETIME EVENT!!! EMAIL THIS TO EVERYONE SO THAT NO ONE WILL MISS THIS!!! …sorry…stupid spam-stuck-in-my-head thing… (I swear, I’ve gotten dozen of these things over the last four or five years.) [Snopes link, just in case.](http://www.snopes.com/science/mars.asp) ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-has-certainly-been-bright-over-the-past-few-days/431742/11 "2007-12-31T03:30:04Z")
[QUOTE=Dijon Warlock] It will be THE SIZE OF THE FULL MOON!!! THIS IS A ONCE IN A LIFETIME EVENT!!! EMAIL THIS TO EVERYONE SO THAT NO ONE WILL MISS THIS!!! [/QUOTE] You know what makes me cry myself to sleep each night? The fact most people in my email would believe me if I sent them that. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-has-certainly-been-bright-over-the-past-few-days/431742/12 "2007-12-31T14:06:57Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] “No one would have believed in the early years of the 21st century that our world was being watched by intelligences greater than our own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns, _they_ observed and studied, the way a man with a microscope might scrutinize the creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water…” [/QUOTE] One of my favorite books. 🆒🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-has-certainly-been-bright-over-the-past-few-days/431742/13 "2007-12-31T14:46:05Z")
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor] One of my favorite books. 🆒🙂 [/QUOTE] Book? BOOK? What is this “book” of which you speak? [sub]_Please_ don’t tell me I need to specify that the above is a joke, please.[/sub] Whenever I read that passage, I hear it in the voice of the late, great Richard Burton (not the explorer, but Elizabeth Taylor’s double ex)… And [I think of this.](http://www.thewaroftheworlds.com/) UUUUUUUUUULLLLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!! ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-has-certainly-been-bright-over-the-past-few-days/431742/14 "2007-12-31T14:57:16Z")
[The likelihood of a hit is getting higher.](http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/) A couple of weeks back it was 1 in 75. Now it is 1 in 25. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-has-certainly-been-bright-over-the-past-few-days/431742/15 "2007-12-31T16:42:28Z")
[QUOTE=Dijon Warlock] Book? BOOK? What is this “book” of which you speak? [sub]_Please_ don’t tell me I need to specify that the above is a joke, please.[/sub] Whenever I read that passage, I hear it in the voice of the late, great Richard Burton (not the explorer, but Elizabeth Taylor’s double ex)… And [I think of this.](http://www.thewaroftheworlds.com/) UUUUUUUUUULLLLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!! [/QUOTE] What do you think I had playing in the background when I wrote my post? Somewhere in the back of my closet, there still exists one of the jackets we won for the sales display we did for that album. Warren made an 8’ high tripod, and we had it smashing “through” one of the walls of the store, zapping the “Country” section. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-has-certainly-been-bright-over-the-past-few-days/431742/16 "2007-12-31T20:32:34Z")
[QUOTE=Dijon Warlock] Book? BOOK? What is this “book” of which you speak? [sub]_Please_ don’t tell me I need to specify that the above is a joke, please.[/sub] Whenever I read that passage, I hear it in the voice of the late, great Richard Burton (not the explorer, but Elizabeth Taylor’s double ex)… And [I think of this.](http://www.thewaroftheworlds.com/) UUUUUUUUUULLLLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!! [/QUOTE] \ ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-has-certainly-been-bright-over-the-past-few-days/431742/17 "2007-12-31T23:50:47Z")
You can always tell the geek. At last night’s fireworks I was busy pointing out Mars to people - and they couldn’t have cared less. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-has-certainly-been-bright-over-the-past-few-days/431742/18 "2007-12-31T23:58:34Z")
Hey, maybe you guys will know the answer to this: The night of December 23rd I was in downtown DC with friends, and we noticed something in the sky that almost seemed to be “anchoring” the moon (bottom right). It seemed to be a star, but was very bright. Many other people noticed it, too, and tried to take pictures. Any idea what that was? I know absolutely nothing about astronomy, so please don’t laugh too hard if it was, in fact, Mars. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Tully\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@Tully\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tully_Mars)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2008, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-has-certainly-been-bright-over-the-past-few-days/431742/19 "2008-01-01T15:45:24Z")
[QUOTE=Misnomer] Hey, maybe you guys will know the answer to this: The night of December 23rd I was in downtown DC with friends, and we noticed something in the sky that almost seemed to be “anchoring” the moon (bottom right). It seemed to be a star, but was very bright. Many other people noticed it, too, and tried to take pictures. Any idea what that was? I know absolutely nothing about astronomy, so please don’t laugh too hard if it was, in fact, Mars. 🙂 [/QUOTE] It was Mars. I called my sister so she could get the kiddoes outside and look at the two together that night. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2008, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-has-certainly-been-bright-over-the-past-few-days/431742/20 "2008-01-01T17:52:13Z")
Thanks! 🙂 Now, can anyone explain – in layman’s terms – why Mars is so bright all of a sudden? Does it have anything to do with **Cunctator** ’s “at opposition” phrase? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-has-certainly-been-bright-over-the-past-few-days/431742.md?page=2)