Mars hoax e-mail is back again as Aug 27 approaches

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The origins of the Hoax can be traced back to 2003 when Mars really did swell to unusual proportions. On August 27, 2003, Mars came within 56 million km of Earth, the nearest it has been in 60,000 years.

"People marveled at the orange brilliance of Mars in the night sky and crowded around telescopes for clear views of the planet's towering volcanoes, ruddy plains and glistening polar ice caps. At the height of the display, Mars was about 75 times smaller than the full Moon. That's when the virus was born," NASA said.

If Mars is 75 times smaller than the Moon, then magnifying it 75 times should make it equal to the Moon. Early versions of the Hoax encouraged readers to get out their telescopes and insert a 75x eyepiece: "At a modest 75 times magnification, Mars will look as big as the full Moon to the naked eye" the hoax message stated.

Soon, the Hoax was vectoring around the internet, making copies of itself and mutating. Advanced versions of the virus, sleeker and less wordy than its ancestors, omitted the magnification and simply stated, "Mars will look as big as the full Moon to the naked eye!"

Before long, the year was omitted, too. August 27, 2003, became August 27, and the Hoax became immortal. Indeed, years of stories contradicting the Hoax have failed to stamp it out.

"Tolerant readers point out that the Mars Hoax is not really a hoax, because it is not an intentional trick. The original composer probably believed everything he or she wrote in the message. If so, even the name of the Mars Hoax is wrong," NASA said.

If Mars did come close enough to rival the Moon, its gravity would alter Earth's orbit and raise terrible tides. At the same time, the Moon is about 400,000 kilometers away from Earth. The Moon is about 780 times closer to the Earth than is the planet Mars. The minimum distance between Mars and Earth varies about 55 and 100 million km due to the planets' elliptical orbits.

"Here's what you should do on August 27, go outside at sunset and face west. The bright light you see shining through the twilight is lovely Venus. Grab a pair of binoculars and scan the sky around Venus. A few degrees to the right, you'll come across a little orange star-like object. That is Mars. Now go back inside and delete that email," NASA advised.