Reiterating something I briefly mentioned, this from SpaceWeather.com:
MARS HOAX: A bogus email is going around the Internet. It claims that Mars will be historically close to Earth on August 27, 2006–so close that Mars will look as large as the full Moon. This is not true. Here are the facts: On August 27th, Mars will be on the other side of the solar system, about 385 million kilometers from Earth. The red planet will look tiny and dim, nothing like a full Moon.
The “Mars Hoax” email first appeared in 2003. On August 27th of that year, Mars really did come historically close to Earth. But the email’s claim that Mars would rival the Moon was grossly exaggerated. Every August since 2003, the email has staged a revival. It’s as wrong now as it was then.
Um, I told you so.
And from the same source:
AURORA SURPRISE: A solar wind stream hit Earth this morning, sparking a geomagnetic storm. The arrival of the stream was unexpected, but the auroras it produced were a pleasant surprise. Bright, colorful lights appeared over Canada, while “photographic auroras” descended as far south as Colorado. See pictures of the event at http://spaceweather.com.
DAWN PLANETS: Up before dawn? Step outside and look east. You’ll see Venus and Mercury beaming through the rosy glow of sunrise. This week, the two bright morning planets are converging for a close encounter on August 10th and 11th. It’s a nice way to begin the day.
And from Universe Today:
Astronomers recently calculated the distance to the relatively nearby galaxy M33 (aka the Triangulum Galaxy) as being about 15% further than previously estimated. They analyzed the distance using several telescopes, fine tuning their instruments very carefully. This measurement means that the Hubble constant – which astronomers use to measure distances in the Universe – could be off as well. The Universe might actually be 15% larger than previously believed.
That’s a compelling bit of information. If it’s true, it means the universe is also older than we thought. Again, discovery is a wonderful thing.