2 Moons this August?

hanif_90 · Post by **hanif_90** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 7:14 pm

Hi all,

I receive an email from my friend stating that there are going to be 2 moons on the 27 August 2007. Here is the email:

[font=Courier New]>>Subject: FW: TWO MOON ON 27 AUGUST
>>Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2007 18:56:46 +0800
>>Two moon on 27 August
>>27th Aug the Whole World is waiting for Planet Mars will be the brightest in the night sky starting August.
>>It will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye.
>>This will cultivate 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[/font]

Well, could anyone explain this phenomena whether or not it's real?

Sam Lee · Post by **Sam Lee** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 7:23 pm

Haha, its the Mars hoax again. Seems like there's a revival of this hoax mail every year.

It will be bright , but certainly not as big as the full moon.

Regards,
Sam

zackae · Post by **zackae** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 7:58 pm

haha yeah. I saw it in 05 and it was like a star. I doubt anything else could be as big as the moon other than the sun. Well at least we got the dates around when we can see Mars, the red star in the sky again.

Post by **weixing** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 10:01 pm

Hi,
Basically, I think as this chain mail get forwarded, the most important part of the message get "censored": "Though a telescope at 75x, the Mars will look as big as the Full Moon to the naked eye".

Have a nice day.

zackae · Post by **zackae** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 10:05 pm

LMAO that was funny!

sehchoi · Post by **sehchoi** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 11:10 am

Earth would be in trouble if Mars would be as big as the Moon...

Any idea why this hoax was originated?

hanif_90 · Post by **hanif_90** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 12:36 pm

maybe some misunderstanding? or just a plain old dream...

Post by **weixing** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 1:10 pm

Hi,
Some Background Info:
1) Mars Oppositions occur when Earth, on its inner orbit, passes between the Sun and planet Mars. This occurs about every 2 years and 2 months.

2) Angular diameter: 1 degree = 60 arc min = 60 x 60 arc sec = 3600 arc sec

This chain mail basically start before the 2003 Mars Oppositions when Mars will come very close to earth in 27 Aug 2003... around 56 millions km from earth... the closest in 60,000 years. At this distance, Mars is around 25 arc second in angular diameter to the naked eye.

The Moon angular diameter is around 30 arc min (0.5 degree or 1,800 arc sec) to the naked eye, so at 75x, Mars will have an angular diameter of around 30 arc min as view through the eyepiece... the same size of the Moon to the naked eye.

Somehow, accidentally or deliberately, the part about "Mars will look as big as the Moon to the naked eye through a telescope at 75x" "disappear" as the mail get forwarded.

Anyway, the next Mars Oppositions will be this December when Mars will be around 88 million km from Earth. Although Mars will not be as big as in Aug 2003, but it still a good chance to take a good look at it.

Have a nice day.

hanif_90 · Post by **hanif_90** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 3:23 pm

o0....fascinating...