Can we all take a moment to appreciate the moon... no matter where you are in the world we all see the same one. It glows beautifully in our sky, creating many beautiful evenings while it's light dances around us all down here on Earth. It provides us with comfort, and is with us every night no matter what we are doing. It is a beautiful thing.
On the 23rd of June the phenomenon known as "Super Moon" will happen.
What is a Super Moon?! I hear you chime. Well, check out this nifty explanation from the internet God, Wikipedia.
"A supermoon is the coincidence of a full moon or a new moon with the closest approach the Moon makes to the Earth on its elliptical orbit, resulting in the largest apparent size of the moon's disk as seen from Earth. The technical name is the perigee-syzygy of the Earth-Moon-Sun system. The term "supermoon" is notastronomical, but originated in modern astrology. The association of the Moon with both oceanic and crustal tides has led to claims that the supermoon phenomenon may be associated with increased risk of events such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. However, the evidence of such a link is widely held to be unconvincing."
I cannot wait to see it! I will definitely be looking out for it on the 23rd. Hopefully I will be able to snap some gorgeous images.
It's not all peaches and cream, however. I am pretty sure you have heard the rumour that whenever there is a full moon, people go loony. This theory has been tested in my everyday life, and I have to admit, sometimes it is believeable. Putting aside how amazing it is that the moon has so much power, I hope no natural disasters happen because of this occurrence!
The Super Moon this month will be the most "super" Super Moon, so please, have a glance and let me know if you spot it. Yearly, there are 4-6 Super Moons.
Effect on tides [edit]
The combined effect of the Sun and Moon on the Earth's oceans, the tide,[9] is greatest when the Moon is either new or full. At lunar perigee the tidal force is somewhat stronger,[10] resulting in perigean spring tides. But even at its most powerful this force is still relatively weak[4] causing tidal differences of inches at most.[11]
As the tidal force follows an inverse-cube law, that force is 18% greater than average. However, because the actual amplitude of tides varies around the world, this may not translate into a direct effect.
It has been claimed that the supermoon of March 19, 2011 was responsible for the grounding of five ships in the Solent in the UK,[12] but such claims are not supported by scientific evidence.
Natural disasters [edit]
Certain prognosticators have moved the goalposts to within 1 or 2 weeks of a supermoon to suggest a causal relationship with specific natural disasters such as the2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.[13][14] However in both cases the Moon was actually farther from the Earth than average.[4] No evidence has been found of any correlation with major earthquakes.
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