I received an email saying that double moons will appear at that time but it was so cloudy I couldn't even see our earth moon. I was wondering if it was just a hoax.
2006-08-27 10:53:16 · 6 answers · asked by ocstpete 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
Mars is set till next April .
It's a hoax..
I heard about the Mars hoax and the answer is no . I'll tell you the real scoop on it . In 2003 it was in fact true ! Mars was the closest it's ever been on August 27 2003 .
The next year a New York Observatory reprinted the story again on the August 27th date for a joke . It was hown in the states on the local news and they said " The latest Mars craze is going on again this year , It was said to be started again by a new york observatory as a joke and well it's been listed as spam. And it currently is circulating the internet as a forward . We spoke to our local astronomers to get the story and they showed us where Mars is . Under the horizon till next year. t's completely not true this year , It did actually happen last in 2003 as we all know but this time it's a joke. an April fools joke . No madness intended . "
So it's been floating around for 2 years . Actually there is alot of it going around, crazy emails floating areound of it , observatory phones ringing off the hook .
It has turned into one big hoax . For further reading put in Mars Hoax into google & google news .
Next year the Mars Hoax will float again I bet !
If your interested, you can see more of Mars hoax in the news ..
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=mars+hoax&btnG=Search+News
2006-08-28 19:08:25 · answer #1 · answered by spaceprt 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
On the Astronomy section, this question has been cropping up many times a day for several weeks.
It has been called a hoax, but it is really the result of a mistake made by people surfing the net.
On Google, search with:
mars close approach
The second entry returned is a report by BBC of the 27 Aug close approach of Mars in 2003 - three years ago.
Because this entry had hung about in cyberspace for 3 years, every year at this time people get hold of it and think it is the current year - the date is not apparant until you get into the report and see the date in tiny font at the top of the page.
People have seen the entry and spread false information all over the world - easily done with email. In the process the actual facts have got more and more distorted.
Anyone with 5 minutes reading could ascertain that at the moment, Mars is on the other side of the sun, and invisible from Earth for the time being.
Most of the time, Mars is very visible in the night sky, and the 2003 close approach made very little difference. Even at its nearest it appears just like a bright star.
Postscript:
I have contacted the BBC complaining about them leaving old articles in cyberspace without clearly putting the date in the title information.
I have also emailed Google complaining that their search algorithm should not bring up old information as the first returned entries.
I can do nothing for all the people who have interpreted the information incorrectly. people should read things carefully, and treat information from friends very guardedly.
Also, Kris, thank you for the vote of confidence.
2006-08-27 11:29:33 · answer #2 · answered by nick s 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
EVERYONE - PLEASE go to the library & read some simple general information astronomy/science book, like Carl Sagan's "COSMOS". It is an 'easy read', entertaining, and give you all the basic answers for questions like this.
Do not want to read? Check out the VIDEO TAPE.
Mars will NEVER be as big in our sky as the moon, the moon will NEVER be as bright as the sun, and other hoaxes will be cleared up. If you start believing this crap, you will later be ripe for con-men saying "this credit card will SAVE you money", or selling you the Brooklyn Bridge!!!!!!!!!!!!
2006-08-27 11:24:56 · answer #3 · answered by singbloger1953a 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There is only ONE moon that belongs to Earth. Mars is a PLANET. Mars is very close to Earth right now, so it will appear a bit larger in the sky for a while, but not nearly as large as the moon.
2006-08-27 11:00:36 · answer #4 · answered by the_mojo_wire 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Please give nick s the 10 points - his was the best answer i've seen for this question for a long time, and I've seen this question so many times this month!
2006-08-27 13:47:38 · answer #5 · answered by kris 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It was a hoax, believe me.
2006-08-27 11:50:01 · answer #6 · answered by High-strung Guitarist 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋