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August 25, 2006: On Sunday, August 27th, Mars will
be far from Earth, dim and unremarkable. In short, a total
bore.
That's
news? It is when a widely-read email claims just the opposite.
Perhaps you've seen it:
 "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."
"NO
ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN."
This
is called the "Mars Hoax" and, as the name suggests,
it is false.
If
Mars ever came close enough to Earth to rival the Moon, it
would alter Earth's orbit and raise fantastic tides. Impossible:
The orbits of Earth and Mars are too far apart. In fact, this
month Mars is about as far from Earth as it can get: 385 million
km, all the way on the other side of the Solar System.
The
Hoax first appeared in 2003. On August 27th of that year,
Mars really did come historically close to Earth: 56 million
km. But even then the e-mail's claim that Mars would rival
the Moon was grossly exaggerated. To the unaided eye, Mars
looked like a bright red star, nothing more. In every August
since 2003, the email has staged a revival.
If you want to see something truly astronomical on August
27th, wake up before dawn on Sunday and look east. Venus and
Saturn are having a close encounter, as shown in the sky map,
above. The two planets will be stationed less than half-a-degree
apart in the rosy glow of the rising sun. Suggestion: Take
your binoculars out with you. Venus is intense, but Saturn
is easily lost in the brightening dawn. Binoculars help, and
both planets can be seen at once through typical optics--very
pretty.
Meanwhile,
Mars is a bore. Spread the word.
SEND
THIS STORY TO A FRIEND
Author: Dr. Tony
Phillips | Production Editor:
Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit: Science@NASA
| More
Information |
|
Close
Encounters with Mars -- (Science@NASA) Read about
Mars's historic close approach to Earth in 2003.
Mars
Spectacular -- further discussion of the hoax from
snopes.com.
Is
the Mars Hoax really a hoax? Some readers have
pointed out that "hoax" implies intentional
deception, while the email in question is often forwarded
to friends and family by believers with good intentions.
Indeed, in such cases, it's not a hoax, just accidental
misinformation.
The
Vision for Space Exploration |
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