Slashdot Mirror
See The Supermoon Tonight
watermark writes "About every 28 years a 'supermoon' occurs. This is when the moon's orbit is closest to earth at the same time as a full moon. Saturday night will be the biggest, brightest full moon you will see in the next 28 years."
The buzzkills at Space.com explain though that (For North Americans at least) you'll actually only be seeing a "waning gibbous moon," but it should still be spectacular.
Does anybody research these things?? It's not that THAT unusual. Slashdot is turning into Digg.
Do a Google search on "supermoon hype" and read the links!
Arrrggghhh
Karma: Excellent. 15 moderator points expire sometime.
It looked pretty big and round last night.
then I don't care! And since we only have one moon to worry about, it won't be a big deal.
Let me know when we get an extra moon or something.
The best popular link I could find is from Phil Plait's "Bad Astronomy" blog:
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/03/18/kryptonite-for-the-supermoon/
Karma: Excellent. 15 moderator points expire sometime.
I was reading this in the newspaper a few days ago and it really does look bigger. Almost as if it might crash into us.
So the moon spins around us in an ellipsis, where it's closest to us at perigee and furthest at apogee. Apparently it's blamed for the tsunami.
Slashdot needs Geekcode | Can anyone recommend any good SCIFI? My tastes: Foundation, Startide Rising, CITY, Ringworld,
Heh, this reminds me of when Mars came close back in `03.
http://www.v-r-a.org/ppp/Mars/Mars.htm
Folks quickly started misquoting the prediction and saying that Mars would appear larger than the full moon to the naked eye. Websites started yelling at the space programs of the world to launch rockets, wanting to put men on Mars "while it was closer than the moon".
People believe anything these days.... Would anyone like to buy some anti-radiation pills? Only $800 a box.
That dreamers look up and say Wow.... we should be back there.
Great civilizations are remembered for what they left behind.
I'm kind of ashamed to be posting that meme, but at last it's somewhat appropriate.
Hail Eris, full of mischief...
E pluribus sanguinem
I have some magic moon dust to sell also.
... and pointed at my sexy neighbor's window while everyone is distracted by the SuperMoon
From Neil DeGrasse Tyson's Facebook post (http://www.facebook.com/#!/neiltyson): "SuperMoons? A hoax spread by the under-educated on the under-informed claiming the Moon causes quakes. Saturday's full Moon is also closest to Earth in its oval orbit. Perigee happens once per month. Full Moon+Perigee coincide every 2 or 3 years. Last one: Dec 2008. Size? Saturday's moon is 7% larger than average. The difference between a 15 & 14-inch pizza. You are now better informed than the Press."
What about the summary was incorrect?
What a fool believes, he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away.
December 12, 2008: Fullest Moon in 15 Years Tonight:
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/12/fullest-moon-in/
What about the summary was incorrect?
Specifically? That it's anything "Super". it's going to be quite ordinary...just a little bigger. when I use the adjective "super", I mean something extraordinary.
Karma: Excellent. 15 moderator points expire sometime.
Here's a time-lapse of the Moonset setting over the Colorado Rockies in early/2010
I may venture out at O-dark-30 to shoot it again this year to see if it truly looks any bigger.
Hulk SMASH Celiac Disease
But it is called a supermoon, by definition. Perhaps the name is misleading to those who don't know what it is. There will certainly be a supermoon tonight.
What a fool believes, he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away.
The best popular link I could find is from Phil Plait's "Bad Astronomy" blog:
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/03/18/kryptonite-for-the-supermoon/
Good old Bad Astronomy, love that site.
Gotta say, looking up at the full moon right now, clear skies, and sure, nice full moon, nothing visibly spectacular at all, beyond being a massive lump of rock in the sky. Nothing breeds contempt like familiarity.
And I do so hope /. does not become Digg.
that's overstating it a bit... have you got a suggestion for varying the mod mechanism or are you just enjoying hyperbole?
Yeah, considering {1} and {1,2}, the latter is extraordinary compared to the first, because it is a superset.
I think seeing a slightly larger, brighter moon will be nifty. "Extreme supermoon" may be selling it a bit much, but I'm looking forward to having a look tonight.
That was either
1) a typo
2) bad math
Option 1 is the less embarrassing one..
For justice, we must go to Don Corleone
Yeah, the last time this happened was as recently as 2008, according to the article. The moon was five miles closer than it will be today.
It appears this event happens every 3 years of so. Not that big a deal. Astronomy is fun but I like my boss's attitude, when he goes telescope-gazing: "My neighbor's wife walks around naked and never closes the curtains. That's where the real show is at." ;-)
My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
Here's a clue: Moon orbits Earth (coming closer and then moving away again) EACH MONTH.
So... Unless you are experiencing major earthquakes EACH MONTH at about the same time, but NOT during the rest of the month... There is no correlation whatsoever.
Bonus points for Moon actually being closer to its FURTHEST point in its orbit around the Earth (apogee) at the time of the recent earthquake in Japan.
Oh and... Take a look at this.
Each pixel in that photo is about 500 kilometers. During this particular perigee Moon will be ENTIRE 12 PIXELS CLOSER.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
Alright bunratty... you win... THIS time
(Thomas skulks off to his volcano hideaway)
Karma: Excellent. 15 moderator points expire sometime.
OP here. May I offer my formal "Whoopsies."
What about the summary was incorrect?
The video embedded in TFA said this "apogee" orbit along with a full-moon phase happens about every 18 years or so... Not 28 years...
Its a
The video also said the moon will appear bigger and brighter than any time since 1983, which was 28 years ago. The phrase "about every 18 years" is different from "exactly every 18 years". Sorry, try again.
What a fool believes, he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away.
I'm picturing a paper sign on the door leading down to your parent's basement with the following scrawled in crayon:
"TOMMY'S VOLCANO HIDEAWAY!!! KEEP OUT!!! NO GIRLS ALLOWED (except Mom)!"
Yeah... and your point is....?
by the way, do you have still have my Boba Fett action figure you borrowed from me last week?
Karma: Excellent. 15 moderator points expire sometime.
im sticking to Rad-X and RadAway, thank you :)
It's raining. I'll wait until next time.
Good luck with that. He still has my Jabba the Hut inaction figure.
It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's Superman flying upside down with his pants down!
I eat only the real part of complex carbohydrates.
Stupid things and mistakes are submitted to Slashdot on an hourly basis. Blame timothy for actually posting it to the front page.
Every 28 years, it gets to eat for 28 days?
quote: "The name SuperMoon was coined by astrologer..."
aaaaand that's where I stopped.
I'll actually be seeing clouds ... forecast says no supermoon for us, just rain and more rain.
Does anybody research these things?? It's not that THAT unusual. Slashdot is turning into Digg. Do a Google search on "supermoon hype" and read the links!
Arrrggghhh
Practice what you preach perhaps? http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/16mar_supermoon/
*Think globally~Dream universally*
The moon has been up there for 8 hours already here in Thailand.. I guess it did look kinda biggish. How much (%) is the difference of the full moon between now and a month (or a year) ago, I'd like to know if my big moon sighting was confirmation bias or is it really noticeable difference.
The moon did not appear any bigger in the sky, but I do recall that the night was VERY bright. I could see better then than I tend to be able to right after dusk most days (we live in a steep canyon). I could see all the surrounding terrain and all the way down my street that has heavy tree coverage. It was pretty cool. Today, however, we have clouds and rain. :(
No single raindrop believes it is to blame for the flood.
No, if you want authoritative debunking you must consult an ASTROLOGER: http://www.findanastrologer.com/Latest/supermoon-hype
The US government have made it clear that we have no inalienable rights; any we do not defend vigorously will be taken.
The moral condition of humanity controls gravity; so stop mooning.
Whenever there is anything remotely interesting happening in the heavens.
We're socked in with a huge rainstorm; we won't see the Moon for at least a week and a half, damnit.
Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
I woke up to the sound of a hailstorm at 3 or 4 AM. I went back to get some sleep, rolled over at 5 AM and the Moon was out. It just happened to be in the right position to be right in my eye. It was indeed very bright. I thought it might be twilight combined with the Moon, but I don't think we are having twilight at 5 AM yet.
I ended up sleeping in until 10:30.
For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
I wasn't aware of today's supermoon but I did notice the moon was slightly bigger and brighter than normal when it was about 45 degrees above the Horizon this evening.
So, it's that bowl of chili and not the scary supermoon that's giving me gas?
Everyone seems to be talking about the physical effects the moon will exhibit, yet no one is talking about the effects on that quirky body of water, the human being. Last night at the local pizza joint it was packed and crazy. Tonight, the night of the full moon, how much crazier can it get?
note to self: stay outta the bars.
The mind conceives, the body achieves, the spirit manifests.
Quote from wiki: "The name SuperMoon was coined by astrologer..."
aaand that's about as far as I need to read.
It's 14% larger than its smallest possible size. 1.4% larger than it was last month. There is absolutely nothing 'super' about this. You won't be able to tell the difference without a measuring device.
Supermoon by one of my favorite artists.
Ponca City, We Love You
It was based on a germ of truth: Mars was to be the closest to earth and brightest in a century a couple of Augusts ago. But by the time it got garbled in the New Age Media, some people expected Mars to be bigger than the Moon and a sign of the apocalypse. And for some reason this idea gets revived every August now.
I particularly like the "debunking" of the natural disasters, which amounts to "It can't be related to the supermoon since both tsunamis were when the moon was at apogee". Okay, then is it possible that something bad happens geologically when there is an apogee-syzygy?
I will say that I noticed the moon looked exceptionally bright last night at around 11pm, when it was overhead, even if the supermoon thing isnt noticable (hadnt heard about it till now).
Could there have been any particular reason for that, or would it just have been because it was an exceptionally clear night?
what you have anti-radiation pills, I will take what ever you have left!!!!!!!!!
It's going to be a cloudy night, so no moon for me.
That's okay; it was nearly full last night and I got some great photos of it.
http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2979107840/tt0492486
Stupid things and mistakes are submitted to Slashdot on an hourly basis. Blame timothy for actually posting it to the front page.
If I hadn't already posted to this story, you would get a mod point. (I have 11 left! woohoo!)
yes, I blame Timothy, not the original poster
Karma: Excellent. 15 moderator points expire sometime.
Let's be more specific. It is absolutely true that the moon is (nearly) full at perigee. It is absolutely true that that doesn't happen every day. It is true that it may appear a bit larger (just a bit, most wouldn't notice without news hype).
All the other gloom, doom, and significant annoyances being warned about are complete bunk.
It's much more a geek thing (like pi day) than anything else which is why it DOES belong on /. As was pointed out at the bottom of the Bad Astronomy write-up:
But I’ll add that the Moon will actually be a bit closer than usual, and while you might not notice the size or brightness difference by eye, the full Moon is always a lovely and compelling sight in the sky. So I urge everyone to go out and take a look. And while you’re looking think on this: a dozen men have walked on the Moon, dozens of probes have been sent there, and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is still snapping away, mapping our friendly satellite and taking dazzling images of its surface.
So there you go. Have a look, give it a thought and if you like, hoist a beer or two with a friend.
That the full Moon and any other Moon have the exactly same mass, gravitational pull etc.? We just don't see a part of it - it is still there.
Also, solar and lunar tides combined come out to about 5% increase in the tides - NOT "half as big as lunar tides".
When the moon is either new or full, the sun, earth and moon form a straight line and we get the highest (and lowest) tides: the effects of the sun and moon add up.
You DO realize that such conditions occur EVERY TWO WEEKS.
So much for "the maximum possible tidal effect" and its correlation to earthquakes.
only rates a D as compared to Bill O'Reilly's F.
It wouldn't be fair of me to grade you at all. Clearly you didn't even take a look, let alone read, any of the fine links I provided above.
It would be like grading someone who didn't even take the course. While stealing candy from a baby. Seal.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
I can attest to the contrary, after having seen the moon while I was driving earlier 8PM EST
in the D.Cthat is quite noticable, and frankly the largest red moon I've ever seen in my life.
A supermoon occurs when the moon goes on a bender and accidentally puts on it's underwear on the outside.
It's been raining where I live so no supermoon. I did get to see the moon through clouds one night before and showed it to my 2 yr old son. I knew what Neil had written beforehand so I don't think I've missed anything but it still would have been a nice excuse to gaze up if the clouds weren't lousy!.
These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
Will it be blue with a red cape?
Here's a fresh post by Richard Nolle too. Next occurance of this phenomena, April 18th. http://www.astropro.com/features/articles/supermoon/
A picture of what it amounts to in size difference here:
http://sattrackcam.blogspot.com/2011/03/march-19-2011-super-full-moon.html
Both images were taken with the same lens, on during an "average" size full moon, the other yesterday. While indeed notably bigger yesterday in comparison, it really isn't that impressive in absolute terms...
By the way, contrary to the opening lines of the Topic Poster, it is about once each 18 years, not 28 years.
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem delendam esse
I noticed too..and i hadn't heard of such a thing either.. anyways, does it mean if the moon is 3% closer that it's only going to be 3% brighter, or does it work on some other ratio?
But it is called a supermoon, by definition. Perhaps the name is misleading to those who don't know what it is. There will certainly be a supermoon tonight.
You know, I hate it when people don't read the article, but I've grown used to it. I've also grown used to people who don't even read the summary.
But I can't just sit by when people don't even read their own citations:
The term supermoon is not widely accepted or used within the astronomy or scientific community, who prefer the term perigee-syzygy.
Doh! In fact,
The name SuperMoon was coined by ASTROLOGER Richard Nolle in 1979
Now, go read some tea leaves, or get naked and dance around in the woods with some Patchulli or whatever it is you Mystics like to do during the "Supermoon", as you folks like to call it.
I don't get what it means when something turns into digg.