I recently received a forwarded email from a relative that read:
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.
The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to within 34,649,589 miles of Earth and will be (next to the moon) the brightest object in the night sky. It will attain a magnitude of -2.9 and will appear 25.11 arc seconds wide. At a modest 75-power magnification Mars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. Mars will be easy to spot. At the beginning of August it will rise in the east at 10p.m. and reach its azimuth at about 3 a.m.
By the end of August when the two planets are closest, Mars will rise at nightfall and reach its highest point in the sky at 12:30a.m. That’s pretty convenient to see something that no human being has seen in recorded history. So, mark your calendar at the beginning of August to see Mars grow progressively brighter and brighter throughout the month.
I was getting all excited until I read this article and realized the email was a hoax. 
The circulating emails are simply exaggerations. Yes, Mars will be rather close to Earth, but it’s going to happen in October, not August; it’s not going to be as big as the full moon; and it will not be 60,000 years before it happens again.
Sigh… I’ll need to be more careful about what emails I believe. I’m not used to this kind of email hoax; I’m only used to hoax emails that announce, “THIS [important system] FILE IS A VIRUS! REMOVE IT NOW OR YOUR COMPUTER WILL FACE UTTER DESTRUCTION!”
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