Two Moons, Has Anyone Heard About This?

[bratac19]

I recently received this email. I don't know if it's true but it might be worth sticking your head out the door for a peek:


THIS IS SOMETHING TO WATCH

*Two moons on 27 August*

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

[stoogedog]

hi, sorry to bust your moon, er i mean balloon, but this is an urban legend. here is info from about.com:

Comments: Roughly accurate -- or it was in 2003, at any rate, when this message was first composed by person(s) unknown and launched into circulation online.

It was not accurate when the identical text circulated again in 2005, nor when it reappeared for another go-around in 2006, nor when it cropped up again in 2007.

The "Mars Spectacular" or "Close Encounter" described in the email came and went in 2003. Period.

On August 27 of that year, the orbital paths of Earth and Mars brought the two planets to within 34.65 million miles of one another -- closer than at any other time in the past 50,000 years. Though Mars never actually appeared "as large as the full moon to the naked eye" (as claimed in the email), the red planet did vividly dominate the night sky for a time, making 2003's close encounter a once-in-a-lifetime event indeed for astronomers, space enthusiasts, and ordinary observers alike.

Apart from a lunar eclipse slated to take place in the early morning hours of August 28, nothing so spectacular is predicted for 2007.

thanks stoogedog

[bratac19]

Oh...