Artistic Rendering Of Mars

An email sent during the close approach in 2003 has, in succeeding years, repeatedly spawned hoax emails saying that Mars will make its closest approach for thousands of years, and will look as big as the Moon.
Historical observations
The history of observations of Mars is marked by the oppositions of Mars, when the planet is closest to Earth and hence is most easily visible, which occur every couple of years. Even more notable are the perihelic oppositions of Mars which occur every 15 or 17 years, and are distinguished because Mars is close to perihelion, making it even closer to Earth.