At a Glance

A viral hoax is making the rounds saying Mars will appear as large the moon this weekend.Yes, Mars will be exceptionally large this weekend, but, no, it will not even come close to appearing as large as the moon.

A making the rounds claims Mars will appear as large than the moon this weekend, but that's definitely not accurate.

Yes, Mars will be exceptionally large this weekend, but, no, it will not even come close to appearing as large as the moon in the night sky.

On Tuesday, Mars will make its closest approach to Earth in 15 years, passing some , NASA reports. This will make the Red Planet appear bigger — about 10 times larger than a few months ago — and brighter than usual. However, it will still seem no bigger than a bright star. In fact, it will be the second brightest "star" in the sky after Venus.

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Itshould be relatively easy to spot Mars, as long as cloud cover is minimal.It will be visiblemuch of the night, so just look for a bright star with a reddish hue.

Although it's still early to forecast, a large-scale weather pattern could bring clouds over the eastern states next weekas a southward plunge of the jet stream generates showers and thunderstorms, says weather.commeteorologist Chris Dolce. Areas from the Plains to the West would have the best view ofMars as it passes Earth.

In the U.S.,Mars reaches its highest point around midnight about 35 degrees above the southern horizon, or one-third of the distance between the horizon and overhead, NASA notes.

A massive dust storm on Marswill make viewing surface details through a telescope more difficult, but the dust also better reflects the sun'slight, making the planet appear all that much brighter.

“It’s magnificent. It’s as bright as an airplane landing light,” Widener University astronomer Harry Augensen told the Associated Press. “Not quite as bright as Venus, but still because of the reddish, orangish-red color, you really can’t miss it in the sky.”

Still, rest assured, it will not be as large as the moon.

And don't forget to check out our live coverage of the longest lunar eclipse this century on , beginningFriday, July 27 at 4 p.m. EDT.