Super Mooooooooooon

le sigh

Super full moon shines brightly this weekend

A "supermoon" rises this weekend.

The biggest and brightest full moon of the year graces the sky early Sunday as our celestial neighbor swings closer to Earth than usual.
While the moon will appear 14 percent larger normal, most sky watchers won't be able to notice the difference. Still, astronomers say it's worth looking up and appreciating the cosmos.
The moon will be closest and turn full around 7:30 a.m. EDT (2330 GMT), making it the best time to view.
As in any supermoon event, high tides are forecast because of the moon's proximity, but the effect is expected to be small.

Ardent

Hope it's clear skies then late Saturday/early Sunday

2 stroke

Had a look just now. Total eclipse of the sky again

gumbo1

Is it not Sunday's moonrise??

Dave!

Will this be happening tonight, then?

namloc1980

Yup. Media hype for this is a bit OTT. It's not going to appear any different to a normal full moon.

Dave!

What's it called then when the moon appears really huge in the sky? Is that not a supermoon? I've seen it looking big, and it's bloody amazing to see

namloc1980

The moon never appears really huge relative to normal. It will appear 'slightly' larger and brighter but definitely not huge. Trying to see it at moonrise is the best time to see any difference.

Kersh

What's it called then when the moon appears really huge in the sky? Is that not a supermoon? I've seen it looking big, and it's bloody amazing to see

Although the moon appears slightly larger in the sky than normal at the moment, dont confuse it with the

"moon illusion" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_illusion

which is a different thing altogether.

ZeRoY

namloc1980 wrote: »

Yup. Media hype for this is a bit OTT. It's not going to appear any different to a normal full moon.

Its still a supermoon as it is at perigee, the closest to earth for 2013 while full.

le sigh

Moon phases for Dublin, Ireland

_Whimsical_

http://www.space.com/19195-night-sky-planets-asteroids-webcasts.html

Live cast from the Canaries starting at 1.

Not the real mccoy and no good if you can look out the window yourself and see it but in case its cloudy etc.

ollie1

Just took this photo. Moon looks huge.

ollie1

hidinginthebush

Kersh wrote: »

Although the moon appears slightly larger in the sky than normal at the moment, dont confuse it with the

"moon illusion" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_illusion

which is a different thing altogether.

So is a "moon illusion" what happens when the moon looks absolutely gigantic, but then 10 / 15 mins later seems back to normal?

starlit

Wow so true!

Basq

Very cloudy in Sligo town!

le sigh

Not a cloud for me!:)



I through a thread up in AH to let people know and it was deleted.

Pathetic.

KeithM89

le sigh wrote: »

Not a cloud for me!:)



I through a thread up in AH to let people know and it was deleted.

Pathetic.

Caus youre a rereg obviously.

starlit

Its quiet clear and v big!

starlit

Weird that looks similar to my back garden only that cant take clear pic like that!

Kersh

So is a "moon illusion" what happens when the moon looks absolutely gigantic, but then 10 / 15 mins later seems back to normal?

Yep, pretty much, as it rises into the sky and any foreground objects are out of the line of sight, and the illusion is lost.

Its still the exact same size!

starlit

Kersh wrote: »

Yep, pretty much, as it rises into the sky and any foreground objects are out of the line of sight, and the illusion is lost.

Its still the exact same size!

Wow can see that happening now. Shines brightly with clouds. It almost like a painting even though it a real illusion in the sky! Its stunningly beautiful!

gidget

Got a good view of it but had trouble getting a decent pic as a result of the clouds!

BaZmO*

Taken on my phone through a cheap telescope.

PizzamanIRL

I watched the moon rise from the bottom window pane in my sitting room until it disappeared behind the clouds. It was more entertaining than the boring film I was meant to be watching.

Mountainsandh

Took this a short while ago, this is cropped and taken with an ordinary 300mm lens on dslr. I'm happy enough with it, but don't know how to keep some foreground and achieve contrast. Bits of noise reduction and sharpening done, but I'm not the best at that, so that's my best

also

ladysarastro

[IMG][/img]


Taken on a bridge camera. Not edited cos I have no idea how to!
Still pretty happy

namloc1980

ZeRoY wrote: »

Its still a supermoon as it is at perigee, the closest to earth for 2013 while full.

Supermoon is not an astronomical term and has no meaning. It's just a coined phrase.

csallmighty

It wasn't that very super, it was alright, I think it should be called the alright moon.

Just kidding, some great photos here.

jfSDAS

Great photos folks!

Some useful links:

Lunar apogee/perigee calculator ... http://www.fourmilab.ch/earthview/pacalc.html

Total lunar eclipse at the time of the closest Full Moon in 2015 ... http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEdecade/LEdecade2011.html (I saw a lunar eclipse in the 1980s @ Harvest Moon time and it loomed extraordinarily big on the horizon).

The always excellent earthsky.org explains ... http://earthsky.org/space/what-is-a-supermoon

And another interesting lunar phenomenon that can also enhance the Moon illusion (due to the lower altitude of the Moon as it crosses the sky if circumstances are right) ...
http://www.skyscript.co.uk/lss.html

J.

ZeRoY

That's mine, not very original, the black spots are leaves from a tree in foreground but was too dark to get both the moon and foreground in lit correctly

ZeRoY

namloc1980 wrote: »

Supermoon is not an astronomical term and has no meaning. It's just a coined phrase.

Its another name for the Moon at perigee, what's your point?

namloc1980

ZeRoY wrote: »

Its another name for the Moon at perigee, what's your point?

My point its that the hype was OTT. It's not an event worthy of such hype IMO.

Mountainsandh

I remember not being very impressed with another supermoon, but I have to say this time I did seem to find it noticeably bigger and brighter than normal. I think the hype is nice, it's harmless, and better than the gloomy stuff we're accustomed to on the news.

People getting excited about looking at the moon, what's there not to like ?

BaZmO*

Mountainsandh wrote: »

I think the hype is nice, it's harmless, and better than the gloomy stuff we're accustomed to on the news.

Or what the latest celebrity has named their baby. :rolleyes:


I think it's great that there was so much hype.

username123

I like a bit of hype for matters of astronomical interest. Better than reality tv or whatever other rubbish passes for news these days.

toothfairy123

I know it was the closest passing for this year, but is there another super moon later in the year? August maybe? Yep, it definitely was bigger than the last super moon I saw.

ZeRoY

namloc1980 wrote: »

My point its that the hype was OTT. It's not an event worthy of such hype IMO.

Ah, it gets people out to look at the stars/moon, nothing wrong with that (imo).