[AstroNet] another hoax doing its rounds

[Kevin Govender]

Hi all
There's an email hoax going around that says the sun will rise for 36 hours on December 17th!
This claim is totally ridiculous and untrue but I just got a phone call telling me about someone who believed it enough to call in to a radio station to air his concerns.
Have a look at the website below (thanks for the link Christian) and spread it to anyone who may fall for it.
Text from the website copied below

http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_sun_will_rise_continuously.htm



  On Oct. 17 the Sun Will Rise Continuously for 36 Hours

*Description:* Internet rumor
*Circulating since:* Aug. 2008
*Status:* False

*Summary:* Baseless online rumor claims "the sun will rise continuously 
for 36 hours" on October 17, 2008, turning three regular days into "two 
big days" -- an event which supposedly only happens once every 2,400 years.


*Variant #1:*
/Email example contributed by Swapnil D., Aug. 27, 2008:/

FW: Sun will rise continuously for 36hrs (1.5 days)

Coming October 17, 2008 the sun will rise continuously for 36 hrs (1.5 
days). During this time the US countries will be dark for 1.5 days. It 
will convert 3 days into 2 big days. It will happen once in 2400 yrs. 
We're very lucky to see this. Forward it to all ur frenz


*Variant #2:*
/As posted online, Aug. 17, 2008:/

Coming October 17, the sun will rise continuously for 36hours (1.5 Days) 
In this time the US countries will be dark for 1.5 Days. It will convert 
3 Days to 2 Big Days. It will happen once in 2400 years. We are very 
lucky to see it. Don't miss it!


*Comments:* Poppycock. Let's begin by applying some grade-school science 
to dispel the ridiculous notion that the sun even /could/ "rise 
continuously for 36 hours."

The reason we perceive the sun as "rising" or "setting" every 24 hours 
is because the earth rotates on its axis while revolving around the sun. 
It does not -- and cannot -- stop rotating, nor does its speed 
appreciably fluctuate (various factors such as climate and seismic 
events can cause miniscule changes in the earth's rotation speed, but 
according to scientists all of these combined add up to a differential 
of no more than one second per year).

In order for a day to last 36 hours, the earth's rotation would either 
have to cease altogether or slow down dramatically -- neither of which 
/ever/ happens, let alone once every 2,400 years. It's physically 
impossible.

But you knew that, right? What you're really wondering is where this 
strange idea came from.

*Obscure origins of an absurd prediction*

Based on the available info (of which there is very little, admittedly), 
my best guess is that it began as a prank, pure and simple; that it 
originated in India; and that the perpetrator(s) of the hoax put a great 
deal of effort into disseminating it.

Here's what I've been able to establish:

    * During a one-month period from mid-August to mid-September 2008,
      over 15,000 postings containing the phrase "the sun will rise
      continuously for 36 hours" appeared on the Internet.


    * Nearly all of these postings contained precisely the same wording.


    * Nearly all of these postings originated from India.


    * As far as I can tell, not a single word about a October 17 being a
      36-hour day appeared in /any/ source, online or off, prior to
      August 2008.

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