Volume 8 , Issue 33

Mars & Earth - A Hoax

I didn't call the following to your attention when your last newsletter came out but I looked up the facts just the same and discovered that I was right. The red planet made that close appearance in 2003! Click This Link at www.nasa.gov -- Urban legends: True... in 2003. As About.com astronomy expert Nick Greene wrote at the time, "August of 2003 is a special time for scientists and amateur astronomers. Our red neighbor, Mars will move closer than it's been in 50,000 years. On August 27, 2003, the 'red planet' will be less than 55.76 million kilometers (34.65 million miles) away from the Earth.

Oddly enough, however, the same message made the rounds again in May 2005, and yet again in June 2006. Although clearly the same 'once in a lifetime' celestial event could not occur again so soon, the 2005 version may have seemed accurate at first glance due to announcements by astronomers earlier that year stating that the orbits of the Earth and Mars would draw closer together than usual during the month of October. The 2006 version is just plain false."
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