Saturday, March 19, 2011

'SUPERMOON' SATURDAY NIGHT


From Live Science:
Thanks to a fluke of orbital mechanics that brings the moon closer to Earth than that it has been in more than 18 years, the biggest full moon of 2011 will occur on Saturday, leading some observers to dub it a "supermoon."

On Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, the moon will arrive at its closest point to the Earth in 2011: a distance of 221,565 miles (356,575 kilometers) away. And only 50 minutes earlier, the moon will officially be full.

At its peak, the supermoon of March may appear 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than lesser full moons (when the moon is at its farthest from Earth), weather permitting. Yet to the casual observer, it may be hard to tell the difference.

Great moon ball shines bright
Journeys on dark night's ceiling
Sun's light brings to earth

Image from Space.com

Thanks to Doug for the link to the story.

9 comments:

  1. Looking forward to seeing that moon tomorrow night!

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  2. Here in NorCal it's just been rain, rain and more rain for the past couple of weeks (so I don't think we'll get to see the SuperMoon, sadly)

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  3. It looks so beautiful. Who doesn't love the moon :)

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  4. (If I look out my kitchen window as we speak, there it is shining at me over the Dickensian rooftops of London)

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  5. I saw the moon when it was three quarters above the horizon. It was huge and orange, a spectacular sight. Now it's higher in the sky, white, and still large, but not as large as earlier

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  6. What effect do supermoons have on werewolves? Do they get twice as werewolffy as they otherwise would? ...

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  7. Cathy, I can't say. I know so few werewolves...

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  8. Ah, Mimi, that's just what they want you to think :)

    (wv - pawthr)

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