08-July-2005, 05:28 PM
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Vulcan Administrator
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Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Greenbelt, MD
Posts: 25,997
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Beware the Mars Hoax
Quote:
There's a rumor going around. You might have heard it at a 4th of July BBQ or family get-together. More likely you've read it on the Internet. It goes like this:
"The Red Planet is about to be spectacular."
"Earth is catching up with Mars [for] the closest approach between the two planets in recorded history."
"On August 27th … Mars will look as large as the full moon."
And finally, "NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN."
Those are snippets from a widely-circulated email. Only the first sentence is true. The Red Planet is about to be spectacular. The rest is a hoax.
Here are the facts: Earth and Mars are converging for a close encounter this year on October 30th at 0319 Universal Time. Distance: 69 million kilometers. To the unaided eye, Mars will look like a bright red star, a pinprick of light, certainly not as wide as the full Moon.
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