Super Moon!

Super Moon 2012

We're going to have a SUPER MOON this weekend!  Saturday evening (May 5), the moon will be bigger and brighter than any other full moon this year!


Why is it a super moon?  Our moon looks big or small depending on where it is on it's path around earth.  One side of the moon's path is closer to earth than the other.  The closer path is called the "perigee" path.  

The best time to look at our super moon will be when it rises.  NASA scientists say that the moon will reach the closest path to earth at 11:34 pm Eastern Daylight Time.  I sure hope that I'm awake to see it!  It is suppose to look 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than other moons this year!  Do you think that you'll be able to sleep with all that extra light coming from the moon?

Did you know that you can take a photo of the moon with free online telescope?  Just go to http://mo-www.harvard.edu/OWN/. You will need to type in your email address and a little personal information, so please ask your mom, dad, or teacher to help you.  (For more information, check out our Thursday, November 5, 2009, post called "Beautiful Moon.")  The moon photo on this post was taken with the OWN telescope.  We'll post a photo of the super moon after we receive it!

If you click on this site, you can see the phases of the moon moving in its phases in super speed:
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/graphics/Moon_movie.gif
NOTE:  This video makes me sick when I watch it... the phases of the moon go by so fast that I feel like I'm on a roller coaster!!!!

For more information about our moon, check out this site:  http://lunar.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/outreach/62217main_Moon_Lithograph.pdf