Alas, the Mars event referred to below is apparently an Internet hoax, or an
outgrowth of an actual event from 2003 that took on a life of its own.  I
got excited at the notion, but then I wondered about the "Mars will look as
large as the full moon to the naked eye" statement so I did some poking that
unveiled these articles:

http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-620211.html

http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/columnists/bogert/articles/1631637.html

Now back to your regularly-scheduled discussions of Virginia history.  ;)

All my best,

--Eric

Eric D. M. Johnson
Proprietor
The Village Factsmith Historical Research & Consulting
http://www.factsmith.com/
[log in to unmask]


----- Original Message -----
From: <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, June 29, 2005 7:53 AM
Subject: Re: Site to Check Out Before You Publish


In a message dated 6/29/05 9:08:29 AM, [log in to unmask] writes:

- - - - - - - - - -

[Sorry, I can't source this article. A friend sent it to me.]

The Red Planet is about to be spectacular! This month and next, Earth is
catching up with Mars in an encounter that will culminate in the closest
approach
between the two planets in recorded history. The next time Mars may come
this
close is in 2287. Due to the way Jupiter's gravity tugs on Mars and perturbs
its orbit, astronomers can only be certain that Mars has not come this close
to
Earth in the Last 5,000 years, but it may be as long as 60,000 years before
it happens again.

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