--- In guide-user@y..., Richard Mallett <100114.573@c...> wrote:

> Given the above, and on a different, but related, matter, how
> certain can we be that, as has been stated, the next opposition
> of Mars will be the closest for 100,000 years ?
>
> Ricbard.
>
> E-mail from: Richard Mallett, 31-Oct-2002

You should take such a claim with caution. Within the next few
thousand years we could say that with confidence (if we actually
didn't find any closer opposition during that time interval; I
haven't checked that though), but 100,000 years into the future or
the past the accuracy of our predictions of the planetary positions
definitely isn't big enough for us to make such a claim with
certainty.

BTW, where did you find the claim of the 2003 Mars opposition being
the closest for 100,000 years? That's a pretty long time interval.