April Fools’ Day Joke: University of Vermont Releases Fake Eclipse Press Release
April Fools’ Day is in full swing on the internet, with a fake press release from the University of Vermont claiming a miscalculation of a total solar eclipse on April 8. The release states that a laser-based model led by the U.S. National Observatory’s Measurement Alignment and Astronomy Ministration (NO-MA’AM) failed to account for the time it takes light to travel from the sun, resulting in an error of seven days and 1,843 miles.
Despite initial concern, the press release has been confirmed as a hoax, all in good fun for the holiday. NASA has chimed in to assure the public that predicting eclipses is a precise science, with current forecasts accurate to less than a minute in time over hundreds of years. Scientists use calculations of the Earth, moon, and sun’s relative motion to determine the timing of past and future eclipses, feeding the information into computers for accuracy.
While the fake press release may have caused a moment of panic for some, it serves as a reminder of the importance of scientific accuracy when it comes to celestial events. The University of Vermont joins the ranks of other pranksters on April Fools’ Day, as the world eagerly awaits the next clever trick up someone’s sleeve.
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