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cgwoolf
08-11-2007, 06:08 AM
Two moons on August 27, 2007

Planet Mars will be the brightest in the night sky.

It will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. This will culminate on Aug. 27 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
eaglesprings
08-11-2007, 11:14 AM
cg: Unfortunately, this is an urban legend.

I still go out every Aug. 27th, though, just to make sure! LOL! Heck, it is nice to get out at night to see the moon and stars!
JOliver
08-11-2007, 03:23 PM
Yep. It is a hoax. But it does seem like on Dec 24, it will be the closest you will see it this year. 55 million miles away. But still, it will just appear as a bright red star, not nearly the size of the moon.

In 2003, it came within 35 million miles of earth, and it was an amazing site. It was the biggest object (other than the sun and the moon) in the sky. It won't get that close again until late july 2018.
eaglesprings
08-11-2007, 04:39 PM
Yes, in 2003, I took oldest to a neighborhood telescope party. Unfortunately, it was too cloudy that night. But, that 2003 event lasted longer than just one night.

Now, I must tell you all that I'm sad. My Mom sent me this e-mail, and I tried to tell her it was a yearly hoax, but she could enjoy the Perseids Meteor Shower tomorrow night. It went right over her head. Then, my cousin sent her an e-mail with a link to Snopes showing the Mars/Moon hoax. So, Mom sends me another e-mail and tells me, "These e-mails about two moons and meteor showers are all hoaxes."

I'm sad because Mom can't seem to keep fact from fiction straight anymore. It's either all true, or all a hoax.

She's 85, and still pretty sharp, but it is difficult to explain things to her.
cgwoolf
08-13-2007, 05:53 AM
Shoot - she's 85 and knows how to both send and receive emails...I'd say that is a major accomplishment!

Sorry I would never think to look this up on Snopes to determine if hoax...who the hell would make up something like this? How stupid is that anyway?