Super moon, blue moon and other things luna

From Calgary Television News....

Biggest full moon of year due this weekend

By CTVNews.ca Staff | Tuesday, May 01, 2012

The moon rises behind Century Tower at the University of Florida
as seen from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Saturday, March 19, 2011
in Gainesville, Florida. — Photo: Associated Press.

ANYONE wishing to lasso the moon for their sweetheart will have no better opportunity than Saturday night, when Earth's satellite provides a larger and closer target than normal.

The moon will be closer to the Earth than it will be at any other time of the year, a phenomenon known as a lunar perigee.

And coincidentally the moon will become full just two minutes after it reaches its closest point at 11:35 p.m. ET, creating a phenomenon known as a "supermoon."

The confluence of proximity and fullness are expected to result in a rare opportunity for skywatchers and astronomers to view an especially big and bright moon.

The last supermoon occurred in March, 2011.

According to the Lunar Perigee and Apogee Calculator, a website linked to by NASA, the moon will be 356,953 kilometres from the Earth on Saturday night.

The moon will reach its apogee, or furthest distance from the Earth, 13 days later on May 19, when it will be positioned 406,450 kilometres away.

Then on November 28, it will reach full moon status at its furthest distance from Earth — 406,364 kilometres. That will result in a much smaller and darker full moon than the one expected on Saturday.

According to Richard Nolle, the astrologer who coined the term supermoon, the phenomenon occurs any time the moon is full, and comes within 90 per cent of its closest approach to Earth within a given orbit.

"In short, Earth, Moon and Sun are all in a line, with Moon in its nearest approach to Earth," Nolle explained in a blog.

According to Space.com, the Saturday full moon will rise around sunset and remain visible in the sky until sunrise — the only time in May when the moon hangs in the sky all night without being visible during daylight hours.

While the supermoon is not expected to have any extreme weather of geological effects, it is expected to result in especially high and low tides in the world's oceans.

http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20120501/super-moon-may-skywatcher-opportunity-120501/20120501/?hub=CalgaryHome

‘Supermoon’ coming this weekend

By PAUL HARPER - The New Zealand Herald | 10:31AM - Wednesday, May 02, 2012

The last “supermoon” was seen in March 2011. — File photo: Glenn Taylor.

THE MOON will appear larger this weekend than any other time this year.

This month's full moon coincides with its lunar perigee, the closest approach the moon makes to the earth, making the moon appear larger in the sky.

Dr Grant Christie, of Auckland's Stardome Observatory, said the moon should appear about 10 percent larger than normal.

"The moon's orbit is elliptical, so at various times it reaches its closest point to earth and therefore it appears a little bigger in the sky and a little brighter.

Dr Christie said the so-called "supermoon" will have a only slight effect on tides.

The last supermoon was March last year.

The moon will be at its fullest at 3.35pm New Zealand time on Sunday.

"It does reach its closest moment in a particular point in time, but in terms of the visual impact ... you wouldn't notice a difference half a day either side, frankly," Dr Christie said.

According to Space.com meteorologist Joe Rao, this month's perigee will also be the nearest the moon will get to the earth this year, as the distance of the moon's closest approach varies by about 3 percent.

The moon will be 356,955km from the earth.

Later this year the opposite will happen, with the November 28 full moon coinciding with the moon's apogee, its farthest approach, Space.com reports.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10802936