There is a huge controversy surrounding the possible effects of the Super Moon's appearance on March 19th 2011, namely whether or not it will create natural disasters such as tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions...the whole fireworks of nature at its worst. What's more, plenty of TV channels and online sites will be competing to give people a chance to watch live the online telecast of the Super Moon event.
So what exactly is a Super Moon?
Meaning of Super Moon
First off you should note that the name Super Moon was not conceived by a NASA scientist or any scientist for that matter. It has been coined by an American astrologer Richard Nolle. Is he a fan of Superman or some other superhero and that is why he coined the word?! Whatever. The point is that actually a Super Moon is nothing other than the same bright entity we see in the night sky (that is when polluted air does not clog our vision!) but it only happens to be bigger than usual at certain points of time in a year. At these times, our pretty neighbour decides to get a little closer to us to make our world brighter. This year, on March 19th to be exact, the moon will occupy a point nearest to the earth's center in its orbit. This point is called a lunar perigee - since it is related to the moon, it is known as a lunar perigee. If if it was related to a planet or the Sun, it would be referred to as that planet's perigee or Solar perigee in the case of the Sun.The exact meaning of perigee, as mentioned at the website of thefreedictionary.com, is: (1) The point nearest the earth's center in the orbit of the moon or a satellite; (2) The point in any orbit nearest to the body being orbited. The website even provides a diagram:
Coming back to the phenomenon of the Super Moon...
What causes the formation of a Super Moon?
As mentioned before, a Super Moon is not exactly a new moon being created suddenly out of thin air! It is just the same old white globe in the sky. In the sense of talking about the stars & satellites, the Super Moon is a new moon. Meaning of New Moon: a new moon is a phase of the moon occurring when it passes between the earth and the sun and is invisible or visible only as a narrow crescent at sunset (here again thefreedictionary was helpful). So the Super Moon is actually the new moon which is at 90% or greater of its closest perigee to our planet. As such the cause of a Super Moon is it making its closest proximity to Earth and we therefore will tend to see it as much, much larger than usual.What are the effects of a Super Moon?
Now that is a super question!This loaded question has resulted in various categories of people: the astrologers who predict that lots of weird stuff is going to happen; the paranoid people who have unstinting faith in astrologers; the scientists who try to calm the paranoid people by rubbishing the claims of the astrologers; and a large number of people who wouldn't care less if the moon became bigger, smaller or even fell out of the sky!
It is supposedly claimed that there will be mammoth hurricanes, frightening earthquakes, crazy storms...and whatever else scary you can think of. Those who state this support their claim with the hard fact that in the years 1955, 1974, 1992 and 2005 there were natural disasters around the time of the appearance of the Super Moon. The astronomy experts (not the astrologers but the scientifically inclined ones) have refuted this wild theory. They emphatically state that of course there will be unusual tidal waves because the moon anyway does affect the tides. However, this does not mean that the Super Moon is going to create total havoc. There will only be low tides lower than normal and high tides higher than normal. In such a scenario, people living in coastal areas should merely take care not to venture out to go fishing or swimming as the sudden change in tides could be dangerous. As pointed out by a sensible British weatherman, an earthquake is a geological phenomenon and has got nothing whatsoever to do with the moon. Only if this phenomenon happens to occur at the same time and date of the Super Moon will the combination of factors create a bit of mayhem in those living near coasts anywhere on Earth.
So don't panic just because the moon is going to "grow" on March 19th. Instead, keep your handycams & cameras ready to capture the beauty of the moon from up close - real close!
Related Posts:
zoosk