Friday, March 18, 2011

Supermoon?


"Supermoon".  OK, so it's not a scientific term coined by astronomers but more of a descriptive term used by observers.  This phenomenon is the coincidental occurrence of a full moon and perigee, the point at which the moon  is at 90% or greater of its mean closest approach to earth.  It is at the perigee that the moon appears largest.   By the way, apogee is the furthest earth to moon distance.  From what I understand the supermoon may appear 14% larger and 30% brighter than lesser full moons but to the casual observer it may be hard to tell any difference.  When the moon is at perigee, the closest distance from earth, there is much more gravitational pull which contributes to higher tides or greater variation in the high and low tide.  All very interesting but not exactly "earth shaking".

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Facebook:
Lawrence Johnson That pretty neat!!!
7 minutes ago · Like

Anonymous said...

Facebook:
Dave Wild
Hit my head on it last night.
4 hours ago · Like · 1 person (Staci Nichols)

Anonymous said...

Facebook:
Mary Anzalone Wild
I thought it was pretty! It seemed to keep the bedroom bright all nite :)
4 hours ago · Like · 1 person

wildmary said...

Facebook:
Mary Wild Hansen
It was cloudy here :(
3 minutes ago