Supermoon tonight....
If the full moon looks a bit bigger and brighter in tonight?s sky, you?re not seeing things: It?s just the ?supermoon? ? the biggest moon of 2012. And there?s a meteor shower from Halley?s comet peaking tonight, too, adding to the sky show.
The full moon of May will hit its peak overnight tonight and early Sunday (May 5 and 6) just one minute after the moon makes its closest approach to Earth. The timing means the moon, weather permitting, could appear up to 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than the average full moon, an event scientists have nicknamed the ?supermoon.?
The moon will be at its fullest at 11:35 p.m. EDT (0335 Sunday GMT) just after hitting perigee, the point in its orbit that brings the moon closest to Earth. The technical name for the event is a ?perigee moon,? though NASA and other scientists have dubbed May?s full moon as the supermoon of 2012.
The moon will be about 221,802 miles (356,955 kilometers) from Earth, about 12.2 percent closer to our planet than when the moon is at apogee, its farthest point. The average Earth-moon distance is about 230,000 miles (384,400 km).
The last time a supermoon occurred was in March 2011. That supermoon was actually closer to Earth than the moon will be tonight by about 248 miles (400 km).
http://mashable.com/2012/05/05/supermoon-tonight-tips/
:)
Post edited by deadpan666 on
Comments
am I the only to think that pic looks photoshop'd ?
1) no bmx
2) no alien in a basket
:)
better be a super moon after the super amount of money I spent on sinclair goodies earlier :)
Scratch that; it's around 3:30 in this time zone, which is a convenient excuse to sit up all night playing Skyrim... :grin:
Did look a lot bigger than usual..still pretty big now too, but best time to go out now would be 3.30am....
Chances are slim though - spent today shopping in a city center with 2 kids........I'm knackered and it's only 23:56......
Just remember...it'll be the moon in the middle! ;)