Something about the night sky has entranced and fascinated man over the centuries, and this weekend, we have a very special occasion to which we can look forward.
In that setting, our closest heavenly neighbor, will appear to be larger and shine brighter than normally on this Saturday night, Mar.19. It’s what astronomers and simple sky watchers, excitedly expect, is a “cosmic event”, which is referred to as an “extreme supermoon“.
According to scientists, this is a natural phenomenon; one where the moon gets to its nearest point to the Earth and will precipitate unusually high and low tides, globally. These events, known as “lunar perigees,” were also visible in 1955, 1974, 1992, 1993 and 2005. The reason that this one is most special, is that it occurs when there is also a full moon, which last happened in 1993.
Some think there is a connection between lunar perigees and global calamities such as tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, extreme seismic activity, while others believe such theories are simple nonsense.
Some astrologer types have been convinced that last week’s horrible events in Japan can be blamed on the supermoon. Some experts claim that the supermoon/full moon coinciding, should have no bearing on the internal energy balance of the earth, as there are lunar tides every day.
The appearance of the full moon ought to be approximately 15% bigger, and could appear to be about 30% brighter than normal. If you enjoy watching the happenings that occur in the starlit sky, you might want to check it out around the time of sunset, when the moon is nearest to the horizon.
Have fun and try to get a picture. If you get a photo, feel free to post it here as well.
photo: yogalina.wordpress.com
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