THANKS for stopping by, I do my best to acknowledge when someone leaves a comment,you do not have to be a member here & everyone is welcome. Ps: This site is monitored but not actively posting on a regular basis. Mostly these are stories & some photos saved from a defunct site known as Verdun Connections which was on MSN Groups initially then on a social network called Multiply.
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Stargazers can expect to see a brilliant, bright "supermoon" when they gaze at the sky on Saturday night. But despite common folklore, experts say the celestial show won't cause any strange occurrences back on Earth.
The phenomenon known as a lunar perigee occurs when the moon is closer to the Earth than at any other time of the year.
Coincidentally, the moon will become full just two minutes after it reaches its closest point at 11:35 p.m. ET, creating a phenomenon known as a "supermoon."
According to the Lunar Perigee and Apogee Calculator, a website linked to by NASA, the moon will be 356,953 kilometres from the Earth on Saturday night.
That's 6,000 kilometres closer than on average, astronomy writer Andrew Fazekas told CTV News. "That's about as close as the moon can get."
As a result the moon is going to appear about 16 per cent larger and about 30 per cent brighter than at any other time during the entire year, Fazekas said.
The confluence of proximity and fullness are expected to result in a rare opportunity for skywatchers and astronomers to view an especially big and bright moon.
What's not expected are higher crime rates or freak events as a result of the supermoon.
According to Fazekas, the full moon is associated with high tides, which could cause localized flooding in areas where there is a storm surge at the same time as the high tide during the full moon.
"But all the hype surrounding the supermoon and connections with natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis, there's absolutely no scientific evidence for that connection," Fazekas said. "I just suggest people go out and enjoy the supermoon. "
Studies seeking a link between full moons and strange phenomena have turned up "pretty much a big mound of nothing, as far as I can tell," Scott Lilienfeld of Emory University and an author of "50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology" told The Associated Press.
He added that the belief that full moons cause abnormal happenings is one of the top 10 myths because "it's so widely held and it's held with such conviction."
The moon will reach its apogee, or furthest distance from the Earth, 13 days later on May 19, when it will be positioned 406,450 kilometres away.
Then on Nov. 28, it will reach full moon status at its furthest distance from Earth -- 406,364 kilometres. That will result in a much smaller and darker full moon than the one expected on Saturday.
The last supermoon occurred in March 2011.
Fazekas said supermoons are "part of the natural cycle, the orbit of the moon."
"If you look at the orbit from above the plane of the solar system, you'll see that the moon has got an egg-shaped orbit, so it means that at some point in time the moon can be a little bit closer to the earth than at other times," he explained.
According to Richard Nolle, the astrologer who coined the term supermoon, the phenomenon occurs any time the moon is full, and comes within 90 per cent of its closest approach to Earth within a given orbit.
"In short, Earth, Moon and Sun are all in a line, with Moon in its nearest approach to Earth," Nolle explained in a blog.
According to Space.com, the Saturday full moon will rise around sunset and remain visible in the sky until sunrise -- the only time in May when the moon hangs in the sky all night without being visible during daylight hours.
I added a picture of the moon from our place but I don't know where it went maybe its in my site ,,Suzanne
You are right Suzanne, it is in an album on your site: if you look at the bottom of where your album is you will see two choices 1: Share 2: Email
Click on Email then you will see the 'embed code' hi-lite the embed the album or photo then paste it in a comment window it will then appear there:
Like this:
There is your photo Suzanne ,..thanks for posting ,it is in an album on your site.
Cheers ! HF&RV - Les
During its orbit Saturday, the moon reached its closest point to the Earth, called perigee, and in two weeks it will be at its farthest point from the planet.
This cycle’s perigee, at 11:34 p.m. ET on Saturday, was the closest of the year.
But McCurdy wasn't all that impressed.
“It’s not actually very extraordinary,” he said.
“As the so-called super moons go, this one is pretty garden variety.”
A super moon happens every 14 months, when the full moon cycle coincides with the orb's proximity to the planet.
In the last dozen years, 10 super moons have come closer to the Earth than Saturday’s, McCurdy said.
Regardless, those looking at the night sky Saturday night noticed something spectacular about the moon.
thanks Les that looks good ,I belong to Universe today its a good site and they give you all the news that goes on at Nasa and they have great pictures from people who watch the stars ,look up the link Suzanne
boy that Top hat loggo sure looks good will put it on my desk top Suzanne
I will (I think I have in the past) but right now I just finished mowing my lawn & doing the edges,& then put up the swing for the summer,later I cook up some halibut & have a beer/wine with my family (it's an every Sunday thing).lol So the NASA site will be later on...Thanks Cheers ! HF&RV - Les
glad you got a kick out of the Top Hat card.....enjoy the rest of the weekend,it's only 2:30ish here on the island...so I now have the rest of afternoon to relax till dinner.
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