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Mars Chain Letter Hoax

Hello!
I am back from vacation... and have been going through all the emails that have piled up while I was away. One of them in particular, has caught our eye...

We have received a few emails from viewers wondering about a chain letter regarding Mars. The chain letter states the Red Planet will be as big as the full moon during the month of August.

THIS IS NOT TRUE... IT IS A HOAX EMAIL!

This is from Sky & Telescope Magazine's website:

Bogus Mars Chain Letter
June 10, 2005 |
Another e-mail chain letter touting bogus astronomy is spreading across the internet. The letter, sometimes titled "Mars Spectacular," claims that on August 27th Mars will dazzle the world, appearing brighter than ever in history. The problem is that "August 27th" is actually August 27, 2003. Mars did have an unusually close pass by Earth that month — but since then, the chain letter has morphed in some versions to the point that Mars is supposed to look like the full Moon.

A few years ago dozens of radio stations called Sky & Telescope about a chain letter claiming that the Moon was about to swing so close to Earth that it would turn night into day. I came up with a standard patter: "This chain letter is a good thing, not a bad thing. It's like an immunization. If you make a fool of yourself sending it to all your friends and family, you'll be less likely to send them the next chain letter, which may not be so benign."

Sooooo... Mars will NOT be as big as the chain letter says... but in the FALL you will be able to see it as a very bright star! It will NOT be as big as the full moon.

Speaking of full moon's... TONIGHT is the FULL "STRAWBERRY" MOON! The moon gets it's name from the fact that the strawberry harvest typically comes to an end during the month of June. In Europe, I believe they call it the Rose Moon... although I am not sure why! If you know, I would LOVE to hear about it! krumheuer@nbcactionnews.com

As for the WEATHER here in KC... not much is changing. We will still have to watch the front to our North on Friday night into Saturday. But right now it looks like it WILL stay north. Here is the latest NAM model for Friday night:

Click to enlarge

Meantime, the 90s continue!! Great pool weather, anyway! Gary is on vacation until next Wednesday, so I will be here in the evenings. Hope you have a great night!
Jamie

Posted by at June 22, 2005 5:34 PM