Tonight's Super Full Moon
Written by: Brian Neudorff
Did you know tonight we are expecting to see something "super"? Yes a "Super moon." But what makes this moon so "super"?
Tonight, March 19th, will be a full moon, and not all full moons are the same. Full Moons vary in size and brightness due to the oval shape of the Moon's orbit. It is an ellipse with one side about 31,000 miles closer to Earth than at its farthest point. When the moon is at its closest point we call this Perigee and when it is at its farthest point it is referred to as apogee. Diagram Here.
What makes tonight's full moon so special is that it will occur less than one hour away from perigee--a near-perfect coincidence. The moon will be just over 211,000 miles away and this perigee moon will be the closest in some 20 years. That is why many astronomers are calling this moon a “Super Perigee” moon.
The good news for a large part of the northeast is that the skies will be clear, especially here in Rochester and western New York. If you want to get the "full effect" the "super moon" it is best to see this as the moon rises in the east at 7:45 PM EDT. This is when the "moon illusion" will add extra effect to the viewing. The "Moon illusion" is not fully understood by astronomers or psychologists, but low-hanging moons look unnaturally large when they beam through trees, buildings and other foreground objects. The next “Super Perigee” won't occur until the year 2029.
Now there have been rumor circulating around the internet and even posts from some saying the "Super Perigee Moon" is what triggered the Japan quake and tsunami and that is not the case. The gravitational affect will be very small and will only have a slight impact on tides, called Perigee Tides.
Perigee tides are nothing to worry about, according to NOAA. In most places, lunar gravity at perigee pulls tide waters only an inch or so higher than usual. The last "practically super moon" occurred in December of 2008 and nothing happened then.
A full moon, at perigee, and mostly clear skies. Couldn't ask for a better set of coincidences tonight. It'll be a good night to get the binoculars - I bet you'll see all sorts of detail on the surface of the moon, including those cool craters.
ReplyDeleteI can't find in which part of the sky the moon will be rising tonight. Is it in the northeast, east or more southeast tonight?
ReplyDeleteThanks!
It's almost directly in the east, currently. The brightness is more impressive than the size, in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteWe can't see the moon here in Wayland...the clouds are thick still at 10:05pm :-(
ReplyDeleteIt can't be seen in Buffalo either. Guess there's a big hole in the clouds right over the Rochester metro.
ReplyDeleteWas able to view the moon at 11pm in Wayland...sure it would have been a bigger sight had we seen it earlier, but at least we got to see it finally.
ReplyDeleteIs our weather going to get interesting again by mid and late week? When I say interesting I am saying wet snow.
ReplyDeleteIn a word....Yes.
ReplyDeleteIt will be minor wet snow DK?
ReplyDelete