Supermoon Rises might trigger earthquakes and volcanic eruptions on Sunday at 6:32 PM (23-June-2013)
BHUTAN will witness the Supermoon Rises in Weekend Night Sky on Sunday, 23 - June - 2013 at 6.32 p.m. (BHUTAN Standard Time)
The closest and largest full moon of the year, called a "supermoon" peaks on Sunday, June 23, 2013.
Supermoons, or perigee full moons, appear bigger than usual because they are so close to the Earth. There have been other supermoons in 2013, but none of those happened during a full moon -- like there will be on June 23.During a supermoon, the sun, Earth, and moon are aligned -- with the Earth in between. Gravitational forces exerted on the Earth by the moon and sun are what cause our planet's ocean tides to rise and fall, which is most likely why alarmists believe there's a connection between supermoons and calamity.However, according to NASA, high-tide during a supermoon is just a couple of inches more than what it is during a normal moon.
Supermoons can tend to get doomsdayers revved up.
Besides being a remarkable sight to behold, the massive moon also comes with the mythical stigma of causing a handful of natural disasters, including earthquakes and tsunamis, floods, typhoons, and cyclones.
And, this year's supermoon is quickly upon us. It will be shining its light next weekend on June 23. On that day, the moon will appear bigger and brighter, and be closer to Earth than it's been all year -- a total of 221,824 miles away, which is roughly 30,000 miles closer than when it's at its farthest.
Despite supermoon apocalypse scenarios running amuck, NASA scientists haven't found any direct correlation between natural disasters on Earth and the close proximity of the moon.
Supermoons, or perigee full moons, appear bigger than usual because they are so close to the Earth. There have been other supermoons in 2013, but none of those happened during a full moon -- like there will be on June 23.During a supermoon, the sun, Earth, and moon are aligned -- with the Earth in between. Gravitational forces exerted on the Earth by the moon and sun are what cause our planet's ocean tides to rise and fall, which is most likely why alarmists believe there's a connection between supermoons and calamity.However, according to NASA, high-tide during a supermoon is just a couple of inches more than what it is during a normal moon.
According to science news site EarthSky, a full moon will not be as close to the Earth again until August 2014.
While a supermoon does bring extra-high tides, the extra gravitational force is not big enough to produce any significant changes in seismic activity for those who are concerned that the moon's close proximity to Earth will trigger earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
A supermoon occurs when a full moon coincides with the moon being closest to Earth in its orbit, also known as perigee. The near perfect timing of these two celestial events makes the moon appear larger and brighter in the night sky.
The moon will be closest to Earth at 7:32 a.m EDT on June 23, but you will be able to see the supermoon shining bright on Saturday, June 22 as well.
Sunday's supermoon will appear 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than a regular full moon does, NASA scientist Michelle Thaller tells ABC News.
The June supermoon will be the largest one in 2013 — the moon won't come this close to Earth again until August 2014 — but you can expect another supermoon on July 22. The last supermoon was on May 25.
While a supermoon does bring extra-high tides, the extra gravitational force is not big enough to produce any significant changes in seismic activity for those who are concerned that the moon's close proximity to Earth will trigger earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
we will be able to witness the rising the supermoon, Full moon falls on June 23, 2013 at 11:32 UTC (6:32 AM CDT in the U.S. and that is 6.32 PM in Bhutan). Thus, for many, the moon appears about as full in the June 22 evening sky as it does on the evening of June 23. This full moon is not only the closest and largest full moon of the year. It also presents the moon’s closest encounter with Earth for all of 2013. The moon will not be so close again until August, 2014. In other words, it’s not just a supermoon. It’s the closest supermoon of 2013.
At United States’ time zones, the moon will turn full on June 23 at 7:32 a.m. that is 7.32 p.m. in BHUTAN, EDT, 6:32 a.m. CDT, 5:32 a.m. MDT and 4:32 a.m. PDT.
We astronomers call this sort of close full moon a perigee full moon. The word perigeedescribes the moon’s closest point to Earth for a given month. Two years ago, when the closest and largest full moon fell on March 19, 2011, many used the term supermoon, which we’d never heard before. Last year, we heard this term again to describe the year’s closest full moon on May 6, 2012. Now the term supermoon is being used a lot. Last month’s full moon – May 24-25, 2013 – was also a supermoon. But the June full moon is even more super! In other words, the time of full moon falls even closer to the time of perigee, the moon’s closest point to Earth. The crest of the moon’s full phase in June 2013, and perigee, fall within an hour of each other.The largest full moon of 2013, a so-called "supermoon," will light up the night sky this weekend, but there's more to this lunar delight than meets the eye.
On Sunday, June 23, at 7 a.m. EDT (1100 GMT), the moon will arrive at perigee — the point in its orbit bringing it closest to Earth), a distance of 221,824 miles (356,991 kilometers). Now the moon typically reaches perigee once each month (and on some occasions twice), with their respective distances to Earth varying by 3 percent.
But Sunday's lunar perigee will be the moon's closest to Earth of 2013. And 32 minutes later, the moon will officially turn full. The close timing of the moon's perigee and its full phase are what will bring about the biggest full moon of the year, a celestial event popularly defined by some as a "supermoon."
You can watch a free webcast of 2013 supermoon full moon on SPACE.com on Sunday at 9 p.m. EDT (0100 June 24), courtesy of the skywatching website Slooh Space Camera. [Amazing Supermoon Photos of 2012]
While the exact time of the full moon theoretically lasts just a moment, that moment is imperceptible to casual observers. The moon will appear full a couple of days before and after the actual full moon most will speak of seeing the nearly full moon as "full": the shaded strip is so narrow, and changing in apparent width so slowly, that it is hard for the naked eye to tell in a casual glance whether it’s present or on which side it is.
During Sunday's supermoon, the moon will appear about 12.2 percent larger than it will look on Jan. 16, 2014, when it will be farthest from the Earth during its apogee.
Supermoon's big tides
In addition, the near coincidence of Sunday's full moon with perigee will result in a dramatically large range of high and low ocean tides. The highest tides will not, however, coincide with the perigee moon but will actually lag by up to a couple of days depending on the specific coastal location. [The Moon Revealed: 10 Surprising Facts]
For example, for New York City, high water (6.3 feet or 1.9 meters) at The Battery comes at 8:58 p.m. EDT on Sunday, or more than 12 hours after perigee. From Cape Fear, N.C., the highest tide (6.5 feet or 1.9 m) will be attained at 9:06 p.m. EDT on Monday, while at Boston Harbor a peak tide height of 12.3 feet (3.7 m) comes at 12:48 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, almost 2 days after the time of perigee.
Any coastal storm at sea around this time will almost certainly aggravate coastal flooding problems. Such an extreme tide is known as a perigean spring tide, the word spring being derived from the German springen, meaningto "spring up," and is not — as is often mistaken — a reference to the spring season.
Spring tides occur when the moon is either at full or new phase. At these times the moon and sun form a line with the Earth, so their tidal effects add together (the sun exerts a little less than half the tidal force of the moon.) "Neap tides," on the other hand, occur when the moon is at first and last quarter and works at cross-purposes with the sun. At these times tides are week.
Tidal force varies as the inverse cube of an object's distance. We have already noted that this month the moon is 12.2 percent closer at perigee than at apogee. Therefore it will exert 42 percent more tidal force at this full moon compared to the spring tides for the full moon that will coincide with apogee next January.
Huge moon at moonrise
Usually the variation of the moon's distance is not readily apparent to observers viewing the moon directly.
Or is it?
When the perigee moon lies close to the horizon it can appear absolutely enormous. That is when the famous "moon illusion" combines with reality to produce a truly stunning view. For reasons not fully understood by astronomers or psychologists, a low-hanging moon looks incredibly large when hovering near to trees, buildings and other foreground objects. The fact that the moon will be much closer than usual this weekend will only serve to amplify this strange effect.
So a perigee moon, either rising in the east at sunset or dropping down in the west at sunrise might seem to make the moon appear so close that it almost appears that you could touch it. You can check this out for yourself by first noting the times for moonrise and moonset for your area by going to this website of moonrise times by the U.S. Navy Oceanography Portal.
The scientists are NASA seem so concerned about Internet speculation that supermoons cause natural disasters that they've released a video that's supposed to reassure you on this March 19th supermooning night.
NASA's YouTube video goes out of its way to reassure you that nothing will happen, that supermoons are merely fascinating events in which the moon is ever so slightly closer to the earth.
Do not touch.
(Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
For example, the video says, a supermoon in 1983 passed without incident. There's something faintly touching, though, when the video's narrator feels the need to refer to an "almost supermoon" in December 2008 that ultimately had no obvious harmful effects.
In fact, December 2008 was a very fine month, in which, for example, Beyonce's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" shot to No. 1.
No, the video doesn't specifically mention that. But it does attempt to throw a damp cloth over the flaming fears of doom and destruction by explaining that the moon will be only 14 percent bigger and that this will not be readily visible to the average eye.
NASA says that if you want to feel the supermoon at its most spectacular, you should watch it rise and catch it near the horizon or as it floats behind a foreground object such as trees.
Disturbingly, though, NASA explains that neither astronomers nor psychologists understand why the moon seems so unnaturally large when it appears in these positions.
So just when I wanted to feel completely relaxed, the boffins go and tell me that some things related to the supermoon are, well, inexplicable. And, worse, just near the end of the video, NASA warns me not to bother trying to touch the moon. Yes, I am worried all over again.
Happy moon-gazing!
Editor's note: If you snap an amazing photo of the Sunday Supermoon and you'd like to share it for a possible story or image gallery on SPACE.com, please send images and comments, including equipment used, to managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com.
Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine, the Farmer's Almanac and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for News 12 Westchester, N.Y. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. Original article on SPACE.com.
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Reference : http://news.yahoo.com/supermoon-rises-weekend-night-sky-sunday-105859644.html
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