'Supermoon' Alert: Biggest Full Moon of 2012 Occurs This Week

[MNeagle]

http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/bi4Nqmlnv1H5WSGXChfS1A--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Y2g9NDMxO2NyPTE7Y3c9NTc1O2R4PTA7ZH k9MDtmaT11bGNyb3A7aD0xNDM7cT04NTt3PTE5MA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en_US/News/SPACE.com/super-moon-2011-tim-mccord-entiat-wash.JPG1300652101

Skywatchers take note: The biggest full moon of the year is due to arrive this weekend.

The moon will officially become full Saturday (May 5) at 11:35 p.m. EDT. And because this month's full moon coincides with the moon's perigee — its closest approach to Earth — it will also be the year's biggest.

The moon will swing in 221,802 miles (356,955 kilometers) from our planet, offering skywatchers a spectacular view of an extra-big, extra-bright moon, nicknamed a supermoon (http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/_ylt=AmwXNcMksfAmFgfSHAIqKV4bANEA;_ylu=X3oDMTFuaWk 1aGFhBG1pdANBcnRpY2xlIEJvZHkEcG9zAzEEc2VjA01lZGlhQ XJ0aWNsZUJvZHlUZW1wQXNzZW1ibHk-;_ylg=X3oDMTMwZWd0NGJ2BGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRw c3RhaWQDZWEwMmY5NmYtOTM4ZS0zMmI1LWI4OGQtOTA2NDJlMm QwOTg1BHBzdGNhdANzY2llbmNlBHB0A3N0b3J5cGFnZQR0ZXN0 Aw--;_ylv=0/SIG=12vjdggq3/EXP=1337042547/**http%3A//www.space.com/11179-supermoon-photos-full-moon-2011-skywatchers.html).

And not only does the moon's perigee coincide with full moon this month, but this perigee will be the nearest to Earth of any this year, as the distance of the moon's close approach varies by about 3 percent, according to meteorologist Joe Rao, SPACE.com's skywatching columnist. This happens because the moon's orbit is not perfectly circular.


This month's full moon is due to be about 16 percent brighter than average. In contrast, later this year on Nov. 28, the full moon will coincide with apogee, the moon's farthest approach, offering a particularly small and dim full moon.

Though the unusual appearance of this month's full moon may be surprising to some, there's no reason for alarm, scientists warn. The slight distance difference isn't enough to cause any earthquakes (http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/_ylt=AtDIRroRpcXmQAY0URUEkBsbANEA;_ylu=X3oDMTFuaXB waHNvBG1pdANBcnRpY2xlIEJvZHkEcG9zAzIEc2VjA01lZGlhQ XJ0aWNsZUJvZHlUZW1wQXNzZW1ibHk-;_ylg=X3oDMTMwZWd0NGJ2BGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRw c3RhaWQDZWEwMmY5NmYtOTM4ZS0zMmI1LWI4OGQtOTA2NDJlMm QwOTg1BHBzdGNhdANzY2llbmNlBHB0A3N0b3J5cGFnZQR0ZXN0 Aw--;_ylv=0/SIG=13cej3ikj/EXP=1337042547/**http%3A//www.lifeslittlemysteries.com/1198-supermoon-did-not-trigger-japan-earthquake.html) or extreme tidal effects, experts say.

However, the normal tides around the world will be particularly high and low. At perigee, the moon will exert about 42 percent more tidal force than it will during its next apogee two weeks later, Rao said.

The last supermoon (http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/_ylt=ApU_8n2sMnBBoT3SH13Su6kbANEA;_ylu=X3oDMTFuN2V tMGg4BG1pdANBcnRpY2xlIEJvZHkEcG9zAzMEc2VjA01lZGlhQ XJ0aWNsZUJvZHlUZW1wQXNzZW1ibHk-;_ylg=X3oDMTMwZWd0NGJ2BGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRw c3RhaWQDZWEwMmY5NmYtOTM4ZS0zMmI1LWI4OGQtOTA2NDJlMm QwOTg1BHBzdGNhdANzY2llbmNlBHB0A3N0b3J5cGFnZQR0ZXN0 Aw--;_ylv=0/SIG=12kl4dsbi/EXP=1337042547/**http%3A//www.space.com/11163-supermoon-biggest-full-moon-2011.html) occurred in March 2011.

To view this weekend's supermoon to best effect, look for it just after it rises or before it sets, when it is close to the horizon. There, you can catch a view of the moon behind buildings or trees, an effect which produces an optical illusion, making the moon seem even larger than it really is.

http://news.yahoo.com/supermoon-alert-biggest-full-moon-2012-occurs-week-180214325.html

[Old Herb Lady]

Thank YOu ! I LOOOVE the FULL MOON !!! My favorite day of the month ! Looking forward to it ! Awesoooome.

[MNeagle]

Zombie Alert, really.

[Old Herb Lady]

YES , it's their day, but non-zombies have the opposite effect. :p

[ximmy]

http://img0.etsystatic.com/il_570xN.211852244.jpg

[willie pete]

http://youtu.be/iDpYBT0XyvA

[Cebu_4_2]

Full Moon is my anniversary, might forget the day but never by the moon.

[sirgonzo420]

http://img0.etsystatic.com/il_570xN.211852244.jpg

photoshopped

[Glass]

all the weirdos come out on the full moon. hmmm Weirdos.

[Celtic Rogue]

This could be a good time for something crazy to happen. Its a known fact that during a full moon the amount of police calls goes up. Just as the tides are created by the moons gravitational pull... we too being 72% water seems to have some change/effect on our brain also. In the past they thought going out at night would make you go crazy. Hence the word lunatic.

OK enough rambling LOL 8-)

What I was wondering... with the moon being closer than most times... will the crime rate or craziness increase as well?

[Old Herb Lady]

Yes crime rates go up, weirdos get weirder, crazies get crazier , hospital e.r.'s get busier, but also,

happy people get happier, gardeners plant more veggies, herbalists plant more herbs, and peaceful people get more peaceful to have to be ready to deal with the above said others.

My neighbors usually have the cops over.

[muffin]

yep. my mom always hated or secretly loved working the ER on full moon nights. people are idiots.... boy, does she have some stories, though.

[gunDriller]

same thing happened last year about this time - well actually about a month earlier.

that closer moon also exerts a massively larger pull on tectonic plates. freeing them from the titanic forces that were keeping them pinned in place, but not from the titanic forces moving them sideways.

[Mouse]

Go outside and look, you can see the night-time chemtrails......

[Serpo]

Its the only time I feel sane when filled up with .............LUNACY