Mars is not back! An email hoax has circled the globe touting that something spectacular will happen in space on August 27. Mars "will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye," so this says. FALSE. Although that would be cool (and frightening), don't buy it. Mars won't be close to us again until 2012 but will never look like the full moon.
The Cincinnati Observatory has seen this email annually since 2003 when Mars was actually closest to the Earth. Pictures and PowerPoints are often added to highlight their errors.
Instead Venus and Jupiter are great right now. Venus is unmistakable in the west after sunset while Jupiter rises like a torch in the east after 11pm.
For more information on the hoax and Mars please contact:
Dean Regas
Outreach Astronomer
Cincinnati Observatory
(513) 321-5186
dean@cincinnatiobservatory.org
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