Super Full Moon Alert: "Biggest" Moon in almost 20 years on March 19th, 2011

March 18, 2011 - PRLog -- Full Moons vary in size because of the oval shape of the Moon’s orbit. It is an ellipse with one side (perigee) about 50,000 km closer to Earth than the other (apogee). Nearby perigee moons are about 14% bigger and 30% brighter than lesser moons that occur on the apogee side of the Moon’s orbit, according to Nasa.gov.

The Moon seems larger when it's seen through foreground objects–a.k.a. “the Moon illusion.”

Ahead of the event, which sees the moon pass at its closest point from the Earth since 1992 while in its fullest phase, a number of scientific publications have noted the myths surrounding such an occurrence.

Contrary to some online reports, Super full Moons do not trigger natural disasters. The “super moon” of March 1983, for instance, passed without incident. And an almost-super Moon in Dec. 2008 also proved harmless.


For instance, Space's sibling site Life's Little Mysteries noted that the moon - which is largely responsible for the ocean tides - has less impact on natural disasters like earthquakes and volcanoes than is often thought.
On March 19th, why not let the “Moon illusion” amplify a full Moon that’s extra-big to begin with? The swollen orb rising in the east at sunset may seem so nearby, you can almost reach out and touch it.

The moon always looks bigger on the horizon than overhead and always looks big when it is rising.

Read the full story: http://www.2013solarstorm.net/super-full-moon-march-19th-...