Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Supermoon!
Actually, it’s an extreme SuperMoon., when the new moon occurs while the moon is at perigee (the closest to the earth) in its orbit.
And that’s not all. The extreme SuperMoon is occurring in conjunction with the vernal (spring) equinox, The spring equinox is the first day of the solar new year and one of two days each year when day and night are equally long.
If you thought last weekend was exciting with all that springing forward, this weekend will really bowl you over. Perhaps literally, if you are one of the multitude of surfers who flock to the Severn Estuary at the end of England’s Bristol Channel. According to National Geographic, the Severn Estuary has one of the world's greatest ranges between high and low tide. During a rising tide, the funnel shape of the estuary squeezes ocean water upriver, resulting in waves that can reach 4 feet (1.2 meters) or higher. So if you are in the United Kingdom, grab your surfboard and wetsuit (that has to be some COLD water) and get head out for a wild ride.
This month's full Moon, which occurred at 2:10 PM EDT today, is the closest and largest full Moon in nearly 20 years. The extreme SuperMoon may appear up to 14% larger and 30% brighter than a normal full Moon, especially when it rises this evening.
A SuperMoon occurs when the Moon is at least 90% of the way to its perigee, or its point closest to the Earth in its orbit, at the same time it is full or new. An extreme SuperMoon, which is what we have tonight, is when a full or new Moon happens at the same time the Moon is close to 100% average perigee.
One result of the extreme SuperMoon can be larger than normal tides on Earth, called "spring tides." This is due to the Sun, Moon, and Earth being in alignment and hence the gravitational pull between the Moon and Sun is greater. When the Moon is also at perigee at this time, the effect is magnified into what is called a "proxigean spring tide." Extreme SuperMoons are rare and occur at intervals from as little as a year to 20 years or more.
For the rest of us, who have to cope with the SuperMoon on land, we can expect to be inundated, too, probably with bad science. As usual, the same folks who brought you the end of the world on 12/12/12 (aka the History Channel) say we should expect volcanic eruptions, floods, hail, hurricanes, earthquakes, meteors and, perhaps, a tornado or two. What we will really get is a spectacular view of the moon, unless it is cloudy in your corner of the world.
According to scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration:
Indeed, contrary to some reports circulating the Internet, perigee Moons do not trigger natural disasters. The "super moon" of March 1983, for instance, passed without incident. And an almost-super Moon in Dec. 2008 also proved harmless.
Okay, the Moon is 14% bigger than usual, but can you really tell the difference? It's tricky. There are no rulers floating in the sky to measure lunar diameters. Hanging high overhead with no reference points to provide a sense of scale, one full Moon can seem much like any other.
The best time to look is when the Moon is near the horizon. That is when illusion mixes with reality to produce a truly stunning view. For reasons not fully understood by astronomers or psychologists, low-hanging Moons look unnaturally large when they beam through trees, buildings and other foreground objects. On March 19th, why not let the "Moon illusion" amplify a full Moon that's extra-big to begin with? The swollen orb rising in the east at sunset may seem so nearby, you can almost reach out and touch it.
However, the folks at the Accuweathr Astronomy blog are a little less certain about the SuperMoon and natural disasters. They point out that
the last extreme SuperMoon was right around the time of the 2004 Indonesia 9.1 magnitude earthquake on December 26th, coincidence or not? Also, for those weather fanatics, the March 8, 2003 perigee happened just over an hour before the full moon then, which was only days before the March 12-13th Superstorm
And the, of course, there was that 9.0 earthquake in Japan a week or so ago. Just sayin’.
Before you rush off to check out the SuperMoon, here is a word from our sponsors. . . .
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Tonight’s Top Comments. . . .
From Dragon5616:
As a teacher, I enjoyed this insight by The Revenge of Shakshuka in Eclectablog's rec list diary What do I MAKE? I'm a teacher and I make a goddamn difference. Now what about YOU???
From
gchaucer2:
I needed a good laugh today. Can't say if it was the wine I just had, but RumsfeldResign's comment in litho's diary, Palin in India made me guffaw.
Thanks for all the work you folks do on a daily basis.
From
samer:
erush1345 packs a diary's worth of information on nuclear reactors into this smackdown comment.
From
me:
litho has some enlightening memories about the complex social environment in Wisconsin in Giles Goat Boy's excellent diary My Trip to Fond Du Lac, WI.
Blue Wind points out the parallels between the actions of tyrants in Libya and Bahrain and the dramatic dfference in our response. david mizner elaborates on western imperialism in the Middle East and ivorybill expands on our problems with Bahrain and the constraints imposed by Saudia Arabia in Andrew C White's diary Cheering People Dying.