Community Corner

'Super Moon' To Appear Saturday Night

The moon will be closer to Earth than it has been for nearly 20 years, as Mother Nature puts on another free show. Will you watch?

 

Grab your telescopes and cameras and look to the heavens Saturday night. As long as fog doesn't obscure the night sky in Belmont, we’re in for another Super Moon.

Astronomers are saying that this Super Moon will be even more super than usual.

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“The last full moon so big and close to Earth occurred in March of 1993,” Geoff Chester of the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington D.C. told USA Today.

This Super Moon (a phrase coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979) will appear especially large because the moment of perigee—when the moon is closest to the Earth in its monthly rotation—will coincide with the appearance of a perfectly full moon, Smithsonian points out. During last year’s Super Moon on March 19, 2011, for comparison, the perigee and full moon were 50 minutes apart.

Find out what's happening in Belmontwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

On Saturday at 8:34 p.m. our time, the moon reaches full moon status - when the earth, moon and sun are all in alignment. One minute later, at 8:35 p.m., “perigee” will occur.

The best time to photograph a full moon, experts say, is at “moonrise.” Moonrise on Saturday in Belmont will take place around 6:48 p.m. according to AccuWeather.com. Conditions for stargazing are expected to be good. Fog may be the only issue.

The weather? Weather.com is calling for a sunny Saturday, with highs in the 70's, lows at night near 50 degrees.

When the moon is near the horizon, illusion mixes with reality to produce a truly stunning view, NASA reports. Low-hanging moons look unnaturally large when they beam through trees, buildings and other foreground objects.

The moon will be 221,802 miles away from Earth Saturday night; the average distance is 238,855 according to NASA. That’s 17,053 miles closer than usual.

This all translates to a moon that will appear 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than other full moons this year, according to NASA. An astronomer interviewed by National Geographic says 16 percent bigger.

For anyone living close to water - a perigee full Moon brings with it extra-high “perigean tides,” but this is nothing to worry about, according to NOAA. Lunar gravity at perigee pulls tide waters only a few centimeters (an inch or so) higher than usual. Local geography can amplify the effect to about 6 inches.

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