Beware the Mars Hoax
July 27, 2006
Just when you thought it was safe to read your email, a new Mars Hoax is spreading. The widely-circulated message tells us "the Red Planet is about to be spectacular. On August 27th, Mars ... will look as large as the full Moon." Not!
Fact: On August 27, 2006, Mars will be on the other side of the solar system, 385 million km from Earth and very dim. So forget about Mars. If you want to see something truly astronomical on August 27th, look east before dawn for a pretty conjunction of Venus and Saturn: sky map.
SOURCE: Spaceweather
