By definition, a "SUPERMOON" is simply a full moon that happens to be close to the earth.
On March 19, the supermoon will be one of “rare size and
beauty,” said NASA’s website.
"The last full Moon so big and close to Earth occurred
in March of 1993," said Geoff Chester of the US Navy.
The
moon’s orbit around the earth is oval; therefore, sometimes it’s close to the
earth and sometimes it’s farther away.
The
distance between the farthest point (apogee) and the nearest point (perigee) is
about 50,000 km. The perigee moons are
14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than apogee moons.
On
March 19, the moon will be less than one hour away from the perigee, according
to Chester, so it’s near “perfect.”
According
to NASA, “the best time to look is when the Moon is near the horizon…That is
when illusion mixes with reality to produce a truly stunning view.”
Lastly,
NASA stated that contrary to rumors floating on the Internet, supermoons don’t
cause natural disasters and the current approaching one was not responsible for
Japan’s tragedy.
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