Good Morning and Welcome to MOT-Morning Open Thread
Once each year (sometimes twice) the Full Moon occurs at the same time as the moon's closest approach to Earth thus we get a moon which is about 14% larger and 30% brighter than other full moons, this occurance is called a Perigee Full Moon or a Supermoon.
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This year's Supermoon will reach peak fullness on Sunday at 7:32 a.m. EDT - it will reach perigee about 7:00 a.m. EDT. On average the moon is about 238,900 miles from earth, but at this time it is a mere 221,824 miles away.
SPACE.com will offer a live webcast of the supermoon beginning at 9:00 a.m. EDT on Sunday courtesy of the SLOOH SpaceCamera which is an online skywatching website.
January 16th of next year, the moon will be at the farthest from the Earth during its apogee and the Supermoon for that year will be on August 11th.
Here you can view an amazing photo gallery of the last Supermoon which occurred on May 5, 2012.
If you venture out to view the Supermoon, or any other full moon, please give tribute to our recently departed moonwalker, Neil Armstrong (1930 -2012) by tipping the moon a wink as requested by his family :
"While we mourn the loss of a very good man, we also celebrate his remarkable life and hope that it serves as an example to young people around the world to work hard to make their dreams come true, to be willing to explore and push the limits, and to selflessly serve a cause greater than themselves.
"For those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request. Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink."