Bogus E-Mail

Space Weather News for August 6, 2006
http://spaceweather.com

MARS HOAX: A bogus email is going around the Internet. It claims that
Mars will be historically close to Earth on August 27, 2006–so close
that Mars will look as large as the full Moon. This is not true. Here
are the facts: On August 27th, Mars will be on the other side of the
solar system, about 385 million kilometers from Earth. The red planet will
look tiny and dim, nothing like a full Moon.

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. It’s as wrong now as
it was then.

SUNNY SATURN: Looking for Saturn? Don’t. It could hurt your eyes.
This weekend Saturn is passing right by the Sun. See images of the
close encounter at http://Spaceweather.com
[/img]