Super Moon?

[Canyouguesswhoitisyet]

Anyone heard of this supermoon event on the 20th?

Being new to all this I am probably the last one to know about it.

Apparently the moon is going to be the closest its been in nearly 20 years, 221,567 miles

Read here Supermoon closest to Earth in 20 years - TNT Magazine

I guess it will be our luck here in the UK for it to be overcast that night

[Bino Pete]

I think its a wind-up, the moons actually moving away from us!!

[ralph1245]

Hi 'CanUguess',

Think you may be referring to the triangle occurring on the 20th with the Moon (full), Spica and Saturn.

Ralph

[AlexB]

I think its a wind-up, the moons actually moving away from us!!

Seconded!

[Canyouguesswhoitisyet]

It was also in The Sun paper today so it must be true surely they dont print lies?!? :-)

‘Extreme supermoon’ said to set Earth up for weather chaos | The Sun |News

[arrturro]

Hi

I just copy and paste that information from yahoo.uk web page. (I hope I didn`t break any law)

The world is set to experience the biggest full moon for almost two decades when the satellite reaches its closest point to Earth next weekend.

On 19 March, the full moon will appear unusually large in the night sky as it reaches a point in its cycle known as 'lunar perigee'.

Stargazers will be treated to a spectacular view when the moon approaches Earth at a distance of 221,567 miles in its elliptical orbit - the closest it will have passed to our planet since 1992.

The full moon could appear up to 14% bigger and 30% brighter in the sky, especially when it rises on the eastern horizon at sunset or is provided with the right atmospheric conditions.

This phenomenon has reportedly heightened concerns about 'supermoons' being linked to extreme weather events - such as earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis. The last time the moon passed close to the Earth was on 10 January 2005, around the time of the Indonesian earthquake that measured 9.0 on the Richter scale.

Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was also associated with an unusually large full moon.

Previous supermoons occurred in 1955, 1974 and 1992 - each of these years experienced extreme weather events, killing thousands of people.

However, an expert speaking to Yahoo! News today believes that a larger moon causing weather chaos is a popular misconception.

Dr Tim O'Brien, a researcher at the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester, said: "The dangers are really overplayed. You do get a bit higher than average tides than usual along coastlines as a result of the moon's gravitational pull, but nothing so significant that will cause a serious climatic disaster or anything for people to worry about."

But according to Dr Victor Gostin, a Planetary and Environmental Geoscientist at Adelaide University, there may be a link between large-scale earthquakes in places around the equator and new and full moon situations.

He said: "This is because the Earth-tides (analogous to ocean tides) may be the final trigger that sets off the earthquake."

[lee allen]

it is ture and yes the moon is movin away from the earth but only by about a inch or less a year. not sure why the moon is so close but might be the obit of the earth and other plants?????

[Digz]

14% bigger and 30% brighter....surely a wind up?

I remember a similar one a few years back with Mars being used:

Mars, Earth - Closest Approach in Recorded History

Note the line that says 'Mars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye.'

[Canyouguesswhoitisyet]

I remember the Mars one that as an email spam this seems to be in the press today. certainly odd one. Guess we will find out one way or another come the 19th

[Digz]

Yeah the Mars one made me laugh.

I know that the distance between the Earth and Moon does vary and that it does reach perigee and apogee and it indeed reach perigee on the 19th its just the figures given above dont seem right?

[Ags]

Er, 14% bigger than what? It's minimum size? (The moon normally varies in apparent size by around 10% - a fact I discovered when I found it had suddenly got 'too big' to fit in my 15mm plossl...) In which case 14% is not that impressive.

[Digz]

Er, 14% bigger than what? It's minimum size? (The moon normally varies in apparent size by around 10% - a fact I discovered when I found it had suddenly got 'too big' to fit in my 15mm plossl...) In which case 14% is not that impressive.

Ah ok, thats a fair comment

[JamesF]

As far as I can find out what's actually going to happen is that perigee will coincide with a full moon which happens on a regular basis, every two to three years. The fact that the full moon happens at perigee does make it appear a little larger and brighter than usual, but it's no closer than it would normally get at perigee and personally I'm not going to panic about the world disappearing in a cataclysmic tsunami and volcano sauna.

James

[Talitha]

Anyone heard of this supermoon event on the 20th?

Being new to all this I am probably the last one to know about it.

Apparently the moon is going to be the closest its been in nearly 20 years, 221,567 miles

Read here Supermoon closest to Earth in 20 years - TNT Magazine

I guess it will be our luck here in the UK for it to be overcast that night

This is a typical case of 'journalistic sensationalism'.

First, it mentions the larger Moon (which always happens when it's in Perigee). But then the article actually debunks itself by admitting that "scientists insist there is no link", and they even included brush-off comments made by Pete Wheeler and David Reneke.

But it made you wonder, and your curiosity prompted you to post the link here, which is exactly what they want. Inadvertently, the link brought the page a lot more hits than it deserves (the number '0' comes to mind).

Makes me wonder if it's "online ratings week" or something.

[mylatestwhim]

As far as I can find out what's actually going to happen is that perigee will coincide with a full moon which happens on a regular basis, every two to three years. The fact that the full moon happens at perigee does make it appear a little larger and brighter than usual, but it's no closer than it would normally get at perigee and personally I'm not going to panic about the world disappearing in a cataclysmic tsunami and volcano sauna.

James

Erm - Japan had the tsunami yesterday! I'm looking forward to the volcano sauna my skins atrocious at the moment

[JamesF]

Erm - Japan had the tsunami yesterday! I'm looking forward to the volcano sauna my skins atrocious at the moment

Yes

It's got nothing to do with the moon though. Having left Christchurch the morning of the earthquake there, my parents' "Natural Disaster World Tour" continues. They're currently aboard the Queen Mary 2 (I assume -- I've heard no news yet, but the Cunard website shows the ship as being at sea) having left Japan yesterday.

So it's all their fault. If you live anywhere on the itinerary of the QM2 for the next couple of weeks, prepare for an emergency...

James

[mylatestwhim]

Yes

It's got nothing to do with the moon though. Having left Christchurch the morning of the earthquake there, my parents' "Natural Disaster World Tour" continues. They're currently aboard the Queen Mary 2 (I assume -- I've heard no news yet, but the Cunard website shows the ship as being at sea) having left Japan yesterday.

So it's all their fault. If you live anywhere on the itinerary of the QM2 for the next couple of weeks, prepare for an emergency...

James

Yep - thoughts and hearts go to the poor folk affected.

Alert currently on google: Tsunami Alert for New Zealand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Hawaii, and others. Waves expected over the next few hours, caused by 8.9 earthquake in Japan.

[Rui]

It was also in The Sun paper today so it must be true surely they dont print lies?!? :-)

‘Extreme supermoon’ said to set Earth up for weather chaos | The Sun |News

Maybe they don't lie, but they certainly exagerate it's effects, turning something that doesn't deserve any attention into a big event.

if you consider the Earth as a reference point, then the Moon goes around Earth in an eliptical orbit, taking a bit over 27 days to do so. Being it's orbit an elipse with our planet in one of it's focci, it has a closest point to Earth (perigee) and a farthest point (apogee).

During every Moon orbit, it goes by those 2 points in it's orbit. So about once a month the moon will look that big.

In that specific day, it just happens that the geometry between the three bodies involved in the moon phases (The sun, Earth and the Moon) will happen to be very close to a straight line by the time the moon passes by the perigee.

I mention "very close to a straight line" because if they were perfectly aligned we would see a total eclipse of the Moon

It's this simple. No tsunamis, no supermoons... The paper "The Sun" didn't lie. they just misinterprete the facts and figures, creating the basis for an hoax.

And unfortunately, the day after "the event" people will not remember this and will not confront the paper with it's inaccuracies. People will be ready to believe in the next hoax.