This one never seems to die. The message claims that on August 27th Mars will approach Earth and swell to the size of a full Moon. “NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN,” It apparently started as an innocent email back in August 2003 when the elliptical orbit of Mars brought it closer to the Earth than is has been in 60,000 years. If you got a chance to see Mars back then it would appear much brighter than it does now but it was still only 1/75 the diameter of the full moon. This August Mars was much further away from Earth and its apparent diameter (and brightness) was much less – only about 1/300 the diameter of the full Moon. So if you ever actually see Mars swell to the size of the Moon you will be in for a real treat as it will likely signify something horribly wrong with the solar system and the imminent demise of the Earth!
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