SPECIAL VALENTINE EVENT AT PARI
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BEWARE OF THE MARS HOAX
(June 10, 2009) – It’s that time of year again! As August 27 approaches, beware of the Mars Hoax! What is it about Mars and August 27? Astronomers at the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute point out that on August 27, 2003, the orbits of both Mars and the Earth were oriented in space such that we were particularly close to the red planet. In fact, at a distance of about 34 million miles we were closer to Mars than we had been for almost 60,000 years. Mars was particularly bright in the evening skies and, observed with an instrument of about 75 power, it would look about as large as the Moon does to the naked eye. So, astronomers and the public became very excited and there were Mars observing parties in observatories and back yards around the world.
What happened next? Well, the Earth is moving faster around the Sun than Mars since it is closer to our central star than the red planet. Thus, as the Earth passed Mars, a point called opposition by astronomers, and moved away, Mars faded into the distance. Because of the motions of these two planets, the Earth catches up with Mars and passes it once every 780 days. So, it was November 2005 before we had another opposition of Mars. But that time, the orbits were not as close and Mars was 43 million miles away. Again, in December 2007 its closest approach was 55 million miles.
Nevertheless, as August 27, 2004 approached a chain letter started circulating on the Internet claiming that on August 27 Mars would be closer to the Earth than it had been in 60,000 years and it would look as large as the Moon to the naked eye (no mention of the 75 power telescope). Again in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, this same chain letter reappeared. Now, in 2009, once again this chain letter has risen from the ashes of astronomical misinformation. Beware!
What is happening this year? Well, the next opposition of Mars is January 29, 2010 when the red planet will be 57 million miles from the Earth. On August 27, 2009 Mars rises about 2 a.m. It can be spotted well up in the east at sunrise above Orion the hunter and in the feet of Gemini the twins. It will be about 151 million miles from Earth.
About PARI
PARI is a not-for-profit foundation established in 1998. Located in the Pisgah Forest southwest of Asheville, NC, PARI offers educational programs at all levels, from K-12 through post-graduate research. The institute is affiliated with the 16-campus University of North Carolina system through PARSEC, a UNC Center hosted at PARI, and is a member of the NC Grassroots Museum Collaborative. For more information about PARI and its programs, visit www.pari.edu.