email hoax "two moons" ??????

PJs · #1 27-08-2008, 11:51 AM

hi
I just received the following email, and thought it must be a hoax as I haven't seen anything about it on here.... or did I miss something?

of course, even if it is true, i'll probably miss it cos it's very overcast today.

"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 cultivate on Aug. 27 when Mars comes within 34.65M miles off 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."

erick (Eric) · #2 27-08-2008, 12:00 PM

Here you go:-

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...highlight=hoax

Eric

goober (Doug) · #3 27-08-2008, 12:11 PM

Yes, everyone knows Cruithne is Earth's second moon

leon · #4 27-08-2008, 12:32 PM

Yea, we know.

thanks anyhow, it comes around every year.

Leon

PJs · #5 27-08-2008, 12:44 PM

thanks guys

i'd never heard of this email before, but i thought it sounded a bit odd.

cheers

pjs

Kal (Andrew) · #6 27-08-2008, 02:32 PM

It appears to come around everytime there is a lunar eclipse. Perhaps the hoax is done in the hope that people go outside and see a red coloured moon and think it really is mars as big as the moon.

AstralTraveller (David) · #7 27-08-2008, 03:06 PM

There is a grain of truth in the email: the quoted distance to Mars is realistic

. If I assume Mars is at perihelion and Earth is at aphelion I get a separation of 33,909,030 miles (miles!! - what sort of unit is that???). However at this distance Mars would need to have a diameter of 484,000km to subtend 0.5 degrees. That is about 6.8 times the diameter of Jupiter.

Ric · #8 27-08-2008, 04:14 PM

No one ever sends that hoax to me.

They probably know I'm an Amatuer Astronomer and they will be shot down in flames.

Ian Robinson · #9 27-08-2008, 05:24 PM

Didn't this crap do the rounds a few years ago too ?

Jen · #10 27-08-2008, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ric

No one ever sends that hoax to me.

They probably know I'm an Amatuer Astronomer and they will be shot down in flames.

Awwww.., Do you want me to send it to you Ric

leinad (Dan) · #11 27-08-2008, 05:43 PM

My Auntie called me from Bathurst the other night to tell me this also.
A double moon phenomena. Calmly had to tell her it was a ridiculous hoax.

Although.. today is 5yrs since:
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap030827.html

I guess, the mars email got caught by the spam checkers so they changed tactics a little...