Mars Isn't THAT Spectacular

There are lots of false facts running around on the internet... and in your In Box. Skip sent us a copy of this one... you may have seen it, too.

From: Skip
Subject: Astronomy Question

I received the following email last night and am curious as to its validity.
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IT'S AMAZING!

*Two moons on 27 August*

*27th Aug the Whole World is waiting for...*

Planet Mars will be the brightest in the night sky starting in August. It will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. This will culminate on Aug. 27th when Mars comes within 34.65M miles of earth. Be sure to watch the sky on Aug. 27th 12:30 am. It will look like the earth has 2 moons. The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287.

Share this with your friends as NO ONE ALIVE TODAY will ever see it again.

This one is just plain false. Mars is still just a little red dot in the sky. It's true that the planets can be slightly closer to each other at certain times... but they never look as big as the moon. It's a matter of distance. The moon is millions and millions of miles closer to the Earth. That's why it looks so big. It's just that close.

There is an optical illusion that makes the moon seem bigger at some times of the month when it is low on the horizon. But it's not because it's significantly closer to the Earth.

Snopes.com helps debunk lots of urban myths. Here's a great article from Snopes.com with a history of this e-mail hoax. Snopes says this one's been around since at least 2003 and makes a widespread appearance every August.

EarthSky.org has some easy-to-read charts to show what you really WILL see in the skies these days.

Happy stargazing!