SUPERMOON

The full Moon has a reputation for trouble. It raises high tides, it makes dogs howl, wakes you up in the middle of the night with beams of moonlight stealing through drapes. If a moonbeam wakes you up on the night of May 5th, 2012, you might want to get out of bed and take a look. This Mays full Moon is a "super Moon, as much as 14% bigger and 30% brighter than other full Moons of 2012.

May 5, 2012 features the closest and largest full moon of this year. Calendars say May 6, by the way, for this same close full moon as seen from Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Astronomers call this sort of close full moon a perigee full moon. The word perigee describes the moons closest point to Earth for a given month. But last year, when the closest and largest full moon occurred on March 19, 2011, many used a term we had never heard,

super moon. We have heard this term again at this 2012 close full moon. The scientific term for the
phenomenon is "perigee moon." Full Moons vary in size because of the oval shape of the Moon's orbit. The Moon follows an elliptical path around Earth with one side ("perigee") about 50,000 km

closer than the other ("apogee"). Full Moons that occur on the perigee side of the Moon's orbit seem extra big and bright.

The 2012 May full moon falls some six minutes after perigee, the moons closest point to Earth for this month. At perigee, the moon lies only 356,955 kilo meters (221,802 miles) away. Later this month, on May 19, the moon swung out to apogee its farthest point for the month at 406,448 kilo meters (252,555 miles) distant. So the moon was really seen at its closest.

In fact, May 2012 presents the moons closest encounter with Earth since March 19, 2011, at which time the moon was a scant 380 kilo meters closer to Earth. The moon wont come as close as tonights extra-close moon until August 10, 2014 although in 2013 the moon at its closest (June 23, 2013) will lie only 36 kilo meters farther away than the closest moon in 2012.

Moon closest to Earth

Year

Date

Distance

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

March 19 May 6 June 23 August 10 September 28

356,575 km 356,955 km 356,991 km 356,896 km 356,877 km

Even the proximity of full moon with perigee 5th may moon was not all that rare. The extra-close moon in all of these years 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 finds the full moon taking place within an hour or so of lunar perigee. More often than not, the closest perigee of the year comes on the day that the full moon and perigee coincide.

Closest full moons recur in cycles of 14 lunar (synodic) months, because 14 lunar months almost exactly equal 15 returns to perigee. A lunar month refers to the time period between successive full moons, a mean period of 29.53059 days. An anomalistic month refers to successive returns to perigee, a period of 27.55455 days. Hence

14 x 29.53059 days = 413.428 days 15 x 27.55455 days = 413.318 days

This time period is equal to about 1 year, 1 month, and 18 days. The full moon and perigee will realign again on June 23, 2013, because the 14th full moon after todays full moon will fall on that date.

Looking further into the future, the perigee full moon on November 14, 2016 (356,509 km) will even be closer than the one on March 19, 2011 (356,575 km). The perigee full moon will come closer than 356,500 kilo meters for the first time in the 21st century on November 25, 2034 (356,446 km). The closest moon of the 21st century will fall on December 6,

2052 (356,421 km).

All full moons bring higher-than-usual tides, and perigee full moons bring the highest (and lowest) tides of all. Each month, on the day of the full moon, the moon, Earth and sun are aligned, with Earth in between. This line up creates wide-ranging tides, known as spring tides. High spring tides climb up especially high, and on the same day low tides plunge especially low. Extra-close full moon accentuates these monthly (full moon) spring
tides all the more.

If you live along a coastline, watch for high tides caused by the May 5-6 perigee full moon or super moon over the next several days strong weather system moves into the coastline
where you are. Still, keep an eye on the weather, because storms do have a large potential to accentuate high spring tides. As a result, if you live near a coast, youll want to be on the lookout for higher-than-usual tides.

The full moon of May 5 (or 6), 2012 is the closest and largest full moon of this year. Some will call it a super moon.