Several other aquaintances have written me asking for details of the moon-sized Mars that will allegedly pass close by earth this 28 Aug after receiving the chain email warning of this event. There is a lunar eclipse on the 28th, could it be possible that this hoax was originated by some astronomically literate prankster trying to take advantage of the eclipse to help corroborate his scam? Anyone with little or no familiarity with the sky expecting to see the mighty Mars spectacle and suddenly confronted by a coppery red lunar disc might just make that leap. Maybe the hoaxster is one of us.