My sister inlaw sent me a copy I replied:

Hi,

Thank you Linda, but someone is pulling your leg.

A few points. Mars (34,649,589 miles?) at it's closest approch to Earth is several orders of magnatude further way from Earth than the Moon (238,712 miles it's mean). Though Mars (4225 miles) is about twice as big as the Moon (2,160 miles) it is still tens of millions of miles further away from us than the Moon. It can therefore never be brighter* nor appear as large as or larger than the Moon unless you where in a spacecraft closer to Mars.

* The Moon has phases so if it was new or very near new Mars would be brighter than it.
The Moon is the second brightest object in the sky with an apparent visual magnitude of
-12.74 (the Sun is brighter).

Mars will be at Opposition* November 7, 2005 *(closest approch to Earth)

--Chris Vancil