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Super Full Moon - Presented by Science@NASA.
On March 19th, a full Moon of rare size and beauty will
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 1983," says Geoff Chester of the US Naval
"I'd say this is 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
kilometers closer to Earth than the other (apogee).
Nearby perigee moons are about 14% bigger and 30% brighter
than lesser moons that occur on the apogee side of the
"The full Moon of March 19th occurs less than one hour away
from perigee, a near-perfect coincidence that happens only
once every 18 years or so," says Chester.
A perigee full Moon brings with it extra-high "perigean
tides," but this is nothing to worry about.
In most places, lunar gravity at perigee pulls tide waters
only a few centimeters (that is an inch or so) higher than usual.
Local geography can amplify the effect to about 15
centimeters (or six inches) - not exactly a great flood.
Indeed, contrary to some reports circulating the Internet,
perigee Moons do not trigger natural disasters.
The "super Moon" of March 1983, for instance, passed
And an almost-super Moon in December 2008
Okay, the Moon is 14% bigger than usual, but can you really
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 - even a super Moon - can
The best time to look is when the Moon is near the horizon.
That is when illusion mixes with reality to produce a truly
For reasons not fully understood by astronomers or
psychologists, low-hanging Moons look unnaturally large
when they beam through trees, buildings and other
On March 19th, why not let the "Moon illusion" amplify a
super 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.
Even a super Moon is still 356,000 kilometers away.
That is, it turns out, a distance of rare beauty.