I just received an email about August 27th and the proximity of Mars to the Earth. The email claims that Mars will be close to 34 million miles from Earth, the closest it will get for another 2000 years, a distance which will cause it to appear as bright as the moon in the night sky. While the claim is valid, it is what the email leaves out that makes it annoying: the year. This event occurred in 2003, and while Mars was the 4th brightest object in the sky (behind the sun, moon, and Venus), it was still just a small point of light.
You can read more at NASA‘s page concerning the hoax. It is dated from 2005, but explains the email hoax (which has been circulating since 2004) and what is true and misleading about it. So if you get the email, please don’t forward it on. It’s so 2003…
I observed this event, and what the report left out was that there was a total lunar eclipse, so Mars was, in fact, brighter than the full moon just before sunrise.
Love you,
Dad