Comments on: Mars attacks, again

By: Aswin’s Blog » Hoax Alert!

Aswin’s Blog » Hoax Alert! — Wed, 11 Jan 2006 18:29:54 +0000

[...] update : I am getting 3/4 hits from google for this particular post with pple searching for “mars as big as moon” and so on. Irrespective of whether these people believe this or not..the fact seems to be that this email is very popular ..so I appeal to u pple that u send a clarification to who ever sent you the original ‘wrong’ email. Also, good old BadAstronomy has a post on this. [...]

By: Curt

Curt — Thu, 03 Nov 2005 19:51:19 +0000

I got duped into believing Mars would be spectacular with a backyard telescope, I used a StarMax 127 Mak-Cass on three occasions, starting with a 25mm, Mars appeared as a pink salmon dot in the sky. I went through my other lenses including a 12.5, 9, and 6mm’s. The dot was a little larger, nothing “Spectacular”, no polar ice caps, no surface detail, just a whole lotta hype.

By: June

June — Sun, 25 Sep 2005 20:18:25 +0000

This is really weird. I received that hoax email too and send replies back to check it out at snopes because it was NOT gonna appear that way. Talked to my older sister yesterday and she brought it up. She said did you go out and look?? Said she went out for several nights (midnight to 3 a.m. in Florida) before and after that date and it was huge. Said if the moon was the size of a half-dollar, Mars appeard as a quarter about 6-inches away. Said it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen and her husband saw it too. This is from a devout Christian who does not drink, smoke, do drugs or lie. I don’t know what to think about that. Sure has me stumped. I waited in line for four hours last time it was so close, to peer through a telescope at the local college along with many others. It was a dot with white on top even thru the strong telescope. Go figure..maybe you have to be a “true believer” to “see” it… I dunno
{{ shrug }}

By: james

james — Thu, 01 Sep 2005 18:44:21 +0000

>It â€™s known as Aristocracy and itâ€™s father was Aristoteles

Sadly it’s never been tried. Plenty of ruling classes have called themselves aristocrats because it pleased their vanity and was a useful ‘mandate myth’ for them being in charge.

Wikipedia says that most historical arisocracies were heriditary plutocracies; in other words the power was held by the rich elite.

….now where does that remind me of?

By: N.Shastri

N.Shastri — Tue, 30 Aug 2005 13:50:14 +0000

Hi Phill,
the thing got me pissed off so much that i STRATED by blogging using the same mail. Have a look at http://shas3n.blogspot.com/2005/08/misinformation-in-information-age.html
I even shamelessly borrowed from one of your blog entries on ID because i wanted to contribute my share for the google bombing against ID.
Your co-warrior against anti-science,
NS

By: mickal555

mickal555 — Sun, 28 Aug 2005 03:23:34 +0000

It’s weird how things like this circulate…

I missed the last apariation of mars, I’m looking foward to a full moon appearence…( at xmag)

Unfortunetly the full moon doesn’t look that big nacked eye in the first place…

By: John Fleming

John Fleming — Sat, 27 Aug 2005 23:38:29 +0000

I remember the ‘closest approach of Mars since cave men walked the Earth’, as it was put at the time, quite vividly. Of course, as most of you already know, it was nothing approaching the suggestions made here, even though most of the same claims were made at the time. Even to the naked eye, though, it was quite a vividly red sight, and unmistakably brilliant. Sensationalizing it doesn’t make it any more remarkable; in fact, I can imagine people going out to watch, and scoffing ‘that’s it?’ Not bothering to really take in the splendor of the event.