~ SUPER MOON ~ .......It’s a weekend full of lunacy. The impending full moon, coinciding with the moon’s closest approach to Earth in its orbit, has become known as the “super moon.” In proper astronomical terms, this coupling is referred to as the perigee full moon. Our lunar companion travels in an elliptical orbit, which means that for every lunar cycle, it snuggles in to a position nearest Earth- its perigee, and strays to a position farthest away – its apogee. When the moon’s full phase coincides with perigee, the ‘super moon’ moniker is invoked ........Saturday night, June 22: The moon rises at 7:50 p.m. (yes, it is still daylight) in the southeastern sky. About 99 percent of the waxing gibbous moon’s visible disk is illuminated, according to the Naval Observatory. And at -12 magnitude, it is very bright and you can’t miss it. This moon is due south at 12:53 a.m. eastern on Sunday morning and it sets at 5:58 a.m. in the southwest. (Compare the moon’s brilliance to Venus, low in the northwestern sky at dusk is -3.9 magnitude, very bright, much like a distant airliner on approach to Washington Dulles Airport.) Sunday night, June 23: Moonrise occurs at 8:48 p.m. eastern in the southeast and the lunar disk remains magnificently bright at -12 magnitude On either Saturday or Sunday, if you catch the moon rising as it ascends the horizon, it may look gigantic. Sure, the moon appears slightly larger than your average full moon, but you’ll still be experiencing the moon illusion. ......To provide ample time for party planning, the full perigee or ‘super moon’ next returns Aug. 10, 2014 – just in time to wash out some of next year’s Perseid meteors.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Jun 2013 17:36:34 +0000
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