[gatagato]

March 16, 2011: Mark your calendar. On March 19th, a full Moon of rare size and beauty will rise in the east at sunset. It's a super "perigee moon"--the biggest in almost 20 years.

"The last full Moon so big and close to Earth occurred in March of 1993," says Geoff Chester of the US Naval Observatory in Washington DC. "I'd say it's worth a look."

Full Moons vary in size because of the oval shape of the Moon's orbit. It is an ellipse with one side (perigee) about 50,000 km closer to Earth than the other (apogee): diagram. Nearby perigee moons are about 14% bigger and 30% brighter than lesser moons that occur on the apogee side of the Moon's orbit.
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"The full Moon of March 19th occurs less than one hour away from perigee--a near-perfect coincidence1 that happens only 18 years or so," adds Chester.

A perigee full Moon brings with it extra-high "perigean tides," but this is nothing to worry about, according to NOAA. In most places, lunar gravity at perigee pulls tide waters only a few centimeters (an inch or so) higher than usual. Local geography can amplify the effect to about 15 centimeters (six inches)--not exactly a great flood.

The Moon looks extra-big when it is beaming through foreground objects--a.k.a. "the Moon illusion."

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.

Don't bother. Even a super perigee Moon is still 356,577 km away. That is, it turns out, a distance of rare beauty.

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news...mar_supermoon/

See also:
Goddard's Chief Scientist Talks About the 'Supermoon' Phenomenon

Dates of supermoons between 1950 and 2050

• November 10, 1954
• November 20, 1972
• January 8, 1974
• February 26, 1975
• December 2nd, 1990
• January 19, 1992
• March 8, 1993
• January 10, 2005
• December 12, 2008
• January 30, 2010
• March 19, 2011
• November 14, 2016
• January 2nd, 2018
• January 21st, 2023
• November 25, 2034
• January 13, 2036

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermoon

[Illusion]

grazie signore

[gatagato]

Originally Posted by Illusion ↗

grazie signore

Prego, amico

[güttsfükk]

nice, i'll have to try check that out tomorrow
be sure to make pix people!

[gatagato]

Originally Posted by güttsfükk ↗

nice, i'll have to try check that out tomorrow
be sure to make pix people!

Of course! That's one of the reasons why I've posted this in advance. I have to let it know to my brother-in-law: while he's not a lover of this stuff, he's a semi-pro photographer, so hopefully I'll be able to share some good pics

[güttsfükk]

i live in a valley,m to the east i can see hills so hopefully i'll get some nice shots

[Faline]

ooh i'll watch out for this

[Smackeddie]

am i the only person who thinks the man in the video sounds like bruce from family guy ? "ooohh noooo"

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[Arkoquisa]

[güttsfükk]

Originally Posted by Smackeddie ↗

am i the only person who thinks the man in the video sounds like bruce from family guy ? "ooohh noooo"

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/oRYiQlUebQY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

ahhh, that's why his fruity voice sounded so familiar