In June, an email began circulating about how great the planet Mars will be this summer...

The Red Planet is about to be spectacular! This month and next, Earth is catching up with Mars in an encounter that will culminate in the closest approach between the two planets in recorded history. The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287. Due to the way Jupiter's gravity tugs on Mars and perturbs its orbit, astronomers can only be certain that Mars has not come this close to Earth in the Last 5,000 years, but it may be as long as 60,000 years before it happens again. The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to within 34,649,589 miles of Earth and will be (next to the moon) the brightest object in the night sky. It will attain a magnitude of -2.9 and will appear 25.11 arc seconds wide. At a modest 75-power magnification Mars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. Mars will be easy to spot. At the beginning of August it will rise in the east at 10p.m. and reach its azimuth at about 3 a.m. By the end of August when the two planets are closest, Mars will rise at nightfall and reach its highest point in the sky at 12:30 a.m. That's pretty convenient to see something that no human being has seen in recorded history. So, mark your calendar at the beginning of August to see Mars grow progressively brighter and brighter throughout the month. Share this with your children and grandchildren. NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN!

This is actually a story from 2003, when Mars was closest to the Earth in thousands of years. NOT this year. And even then, some of the "facts" are incorrect.

This year, Mars will be at opposition in November, and will be higher in the sky for those of us in the northern hemisphere.

If you have received this email, or know someone who has, please refer them to this page, delete the message, and forget it.

Here are some links to debunking this email:

Astronomy Picture of the Day - Mars to Appear Normal This August

Bad Astronomy.com - Mars attacks, again

Science @ Nasa - Beware the Mars Hoax

Sky & Telescope - Mars News, True and False

Snopes.com - Mars Spectacular

Space.com - Mars Hoax Circulates the Internet