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!!! HOAX !!!
READ BELOW...
READ BELOW...
Planet Mars will be the brightest in the night sky starting August. It will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. This will cultimate on Aug. 27 when Mars comes within 34.65M miles of earth.
Be sure to watch the sky on Aug. 27 12:30 am (Malaysia local time). It will look like the earth has 2 moons. The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287. Share this with your friends as NO ONE ALIVE TODAY will ever see it again.
!!! HOAX !!!
Claim: The planet Mars will make a once-in-our-lifetimes remarkably close approach to Earth in August.
Status: Multiple:
* Mars passed extraordinarily close to Earth in August 2003: True.
* Mars will pass extraordinarily close to Earth in August 2006: False.
Example: [Collected on the Internet, 2003]
The Red Planet is about to be spectacular! This month and next, Earth is catching up with Mars in an encounter that will culminate in the closest approach between the two planets in recorded history. The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287. Due to the way Jupiter's gravity tugs on Mars and perturbs its orbit, astronomers can only be certain that Mars has not come this close to Earth in the Last 5,000 years, but it may be as long as 60,000 years before it happens again.
The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to within 34,649,589 miles of Earth and will be (next to the moon) the brightest object in the night sky. It will attain a magnitude of -2.9 and will appear 25.11 arc seconds wide. At a modest 75-power magnification Mars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. Mars will be easy to spot. At the beginning of August it will rise in the east at 10p.m. and reach its azimuth at about 3 a.m.
By the end of August when the two planets are closest, Mars will rise at nightfall and reach its highest point in the sky at 12:30 a.m. That's pretty convenient to see something that no human being has seen in recorded history. So, mark your calendar at the beginning of August to see Mars grow progressively brighter and brighter throughout the month. Share this with your children and grandchildren. NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN
Origins: The piece quoted above is another example of an Mars item that was once true but is now being circulated again, long after the events it describes have come to pass. This article was relevant back in 2003, but it is not applicable now, three years later.
Mars Spectacular
Claim: The planet Mars will make a once-in-our-lifetimes remarkably close approach to Earth in August.
Status: Multiple:
* Mars passed extraordinarily close to Earth in August 2003: True.
* Mars will pass extraordinarily close to Earth in August 2006: False.
Example: [Collected on the Internet, 2003]
The Red Planet is about to be spectacular! This month and next, Earth is catching up with Mars in an encounter that will culminate in the closest approach between the two planets in recorded history. The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287. Due to the way Jupiter's gravity tugs on Mars and perturbs its orbit, astronomers can only be certain that Mars has not come this close to Earth in the Last 5,000 years, but it may be as long as 60,000 years before it happens again.
The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to within 34,649,589 miles of Earth and will be (next to the moon) the brightest object in the night sky. It will attain a magnitude of -2.9 and will appear 25.11 arc seconds wide. At a modest 75-power magnification Mars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. Mars will be easy to spot. At the beginning of August it will rise in the east at 10p.m. and reach its azimuth at about 3 a.m.
By the end of August when the two planets are closest, Mars will rise at nightfall and reach its highest point in the sky at 12:30 a.m. That's pretty convenient to see something that no human being has seen in recorded history. So, mark your calendar at the beginning of August to see Mars grow progressively brighter and brighter throughout the month. Share this with your children and grandchildren. NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN
Origins: The piece quoted above is another example of an Mars item that was once true but is now being circulated again, long after the events it describes have come to pass. This article was relevant back in 2003, but it is not applicable now, three years later.
Source: http://www.snopes.com/science/mars.asp
p.s. Thanks Matt.
5 comments:
Wow! Thanks for the 411.
I'll check it out! :)
Howz u doin?
GBU
Arti
Do read d new story series @ my blog :)
I just wanted to correct some stuff here. Back in 2003 Mars passed close to the Earth (relatively speaking), but it is not happening in 2006. Even when Mars does get close, it will NEVER appear to be as large or as bright as the moon. It is possible to grow in brightness (althought not nearly to the point of a full moon's brightness), but it will always remain a point source and will not grow in size (except if using a telescope). For more info on the hoax, see the snopes report at: http://www.snopes.com/science/mars.asp or you can see the NASA "feature" on the hoax: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/07jul_marshoax.htm
I hope this helps!
Cheers,
Matt
Thanks Matt!!! :)
No problem :) Thanks for stopping by!
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