“The August Mars hoax..”
It’s not a hoax, which is an intentional deception, but a good example of how chain emails never die!
You point out that this was started in the early summer of 2003, when in that August we did have an unusually close approach.
I think it’s far better to blame the perpetual email on the overall ignorance of the populace, of both science and current events.
The annual report claims Mars will look as large as the full moon. In reality, even at its closest, it only looks like a very bright orange star.
Not intentional? You mean someone actually saw Mars as big as the full moon at some point in time?