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| | =Greek Globes, Astronomical Ignorance= | | =Greek Globes, Astronomical Ignorance= |
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| − | <div class="post" id="post-1343">
| + | <p>[[File:Mars_hoax.jpg|mars_hoax.jpg]]<br /> |
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| − | <p>[[File:Mars_hoax.jpg|mars_hoax.jpg]]<br /> | |
| | <em>Eclipsed Moon image by [mailto:anthony@perseus.gr Anthony Ayiomamitis], Athens, Greece, and Mars image by [mailto:g.tarsoudis@freemail.gr George Tarsoudis], Alexandroupolis, Greece</em></p> | | <em>Eclipsed Moon image by [mailto:anthony@perseus.gr Anthony Ayiomamitis], Athens, Greece, and Mars image by [mailto:g.tarsoudis@freemail.gr George Tarsoudis], Alexandroupolis, Greece</em></p> |
| | <p>The emails keep coming, forwarded by astronomy-illiterate friends and strangers. Mars will appear as big as the Moon in the sky tonight, just as in the composite image above. What a wondrous sight it would be, and what a stupendous failure of science literacy it represents. I’ve received the giant Mars email from students at Ivy League colleges - people who should have learned something about the solar system. Is it just naiveté in believing any halfway authoritative online statement? Is there no evaluation of statements, just acceptance? Another similar fraudulent statement is the beautiful [http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060620.html image] of a huge crescent Moon over a tiny Sun in the Arctic. Except that it is an electronic painting, not a reality at all. The artist did not claim it was our Moon, Earth and Sun, but some prankster did and many other people uncritically believed and redistributed it. In the US there is a crisis in science understanding and even in respect. These persistent fraudulent science claims may convince people that science cannot be trusted. And in fact, all statements - scientific, political or otherwise - should be questioned to see if they are consistent with common sense and other knowledge. We, as amateur astronomers, have the opportunity to explain to our friends and ignorant local news media the truly astonishing facts about the Moon and astronomy, and gently debunk these frivolous stupidities.</p> | | <p>The emails keep coming, forwarded by astronomy-illiterate friends and strangers. Mars will appear as big as the Moon in the sky tonight, just as in the composite image above. What a wondrous sight it would be, and what a stupendous failure of science literacy it represents. I’ve received the giant Mars email from students at Ivy League colleges - people who should have learned something about the solar system. Is it just naiveté in believing any halfway authoritative online statement? Is there no evaluation of statements, just acceptance? Another similar fraudulent statement is the beautiful [http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060620.html image] of a huge crescent Moon over a tiny Sun in the Arctic. Except that it is an electronic painting, not a reality at all. The artist did not claim it was our Moon, Earth and Sun, but some prankster did and many other people uncritically believed and redistributed it. In the US there is a crisis in science understanding and even in respect. These persistent fraudulent science claims may convince people that science cannot be trusted. And in fact, all statements - scientific, political or otherwise - should be questioned to see if they are consistent with common sense and other knowledge. We, as amateur astronomers, have the opportunity to explain to our friends and ignorant local news media the truly astonishing facts about the Moon and astronomy, and gently debunk these frivolous stupidities.</p> |
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| | [http://www.flickr.com/photos/80161946@N00/?saved=1 George’s website]<br /> | | [http://www.flickr.com/photos/80161946@N00/?saved=1 George’s website]<br /> |
| | [http://www.snopes.com/science/mars.asp Giant Mars Myth]<br /> | | [http://www.snopes.com/science/mars.asp Giant Mars Myth]<br /> |
| − | [http://www.lpod.org/archive/archive/2004/03/LPOD-2004-03-05.htm Mars and the Moon compared]</p> | + | [[March_5,_2004|Mars and the Moon compared]]</p> |
| − | <p align="center"> | + | <p><b>Yesterday's LPOD:</b> [[August 26, 2007|A Faulty Story]] </p> |
| − | <em>Now you can support LPOD when you buy ANY book from Amazon thru [[LPOD]]</em></p> | + | <p><b>Tomorrow's LPOD:</b> [[August 28, 2007|A Whole New Moon]] </p> |
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| − | ===COMMENTS?===
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