[South Florida DX Association] BEWARE THE MARS HOAX

[Bill Marx]

Space Weather News for August 4, 2007
http://spaceweather.com

BEWARE THE MARS HOAX: It's August, which means it's time for the annual Mars 
Hoax. An email is going around claiming that Mars will approach Earth on 
August 27th; the encounter will be so close, the email states, that Mars 
will rival the full Moon in size and brightness. (Imagine the tides!) Don't 
believe it. The Mars Hoax email first appeared in 2003. On August 27th of 
that year, Mars really did come historically close to Earth. But the email's 
claim that Mars would rival the Moon was grossly exaggerated. Every August 
since 2003, the email has staged a revival.

Here's something that is true: Mars is having a close encounter with the 
Pleiades star cluster, easily seen in the eastern sky before sunrise. 
Especially good mornings to look are August 6th and 7th when the crescent 
Moon joins the planet and the cluster to form a pretty celestial triangle. 
Set your alarm!




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Chris K." <ck at ckradio.net>
To: "aSFDXA" <SFDXA at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Sunday, August 19, 2007 4:42 PM
Subject: [South Florida DX Association] Watch the Sky


>
>    Two moons on 27 August
>
>
>    All our children and children's children should see this as it will
>    never be again for any of us............ I for one can't 
> wait.........on
>    the calendar it goes! 27th Aug the Whole World is waiting for!
>
>    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
>    culminate on Aug. 27 when Mars comes within 34.65M miles of earth. Be
>    sure to watch the sky on Aug. 27 12:30 am. 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.
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