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http://patch.com/new-jersey/montville/saturdays-supermoon-be-first-three-row-0
By Daniel Hubbard (Patch Staff)
? August 28, 2015   
By Marc Torrence


Saturday's Supermoon To Be First Of Three In A Row

If you're out Saturday night, and it's a clear night, take a second to look up.
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If you're out Saturday night, and it's a clear night, take a second to look up. August 29 will be the first "Supermoon" of three in a row this fall.

Chances are, you'll get a good look at it. Saturday night's local forecast is expected to be partly cloudy with no chance of rain.

What is a Supermoon?

Supermoon is the unofficial term for when the full moon cycle coincides with the moon's closest approach to Earth during its oval-shaped orbit. The moon appears slightly larger than normal in the sky and can make for a spectacular view.

The technical term is full moon perigee. Perigee is when the moon is closest to the Earth, as opposed to apogee, which is when it's the farthest.

The image above shows the relative sizes of the moon during both.

The term Supermoon was first used in 1979 by astronomer Richard Nolle, who defined it as a full moon that occurs within at least 90 percent of its closest orbit, according to space.com.

Sept. 28 and Oct. 27 will also fall under this definition, with September's full moon being the largest of the three, as well as a total lunar eclipse, or "blood moon," according to EarthSky.

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http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/a-supermoon-will-appear-this-saturday/ar-BBmaCti?ocid=ansmsnnews11

Business Insider
jorwig@businesssinsider.com (Jessica Orwig)
19 hrs ago



There's an especially large and bright full moon coming out this Saturday night. So, if you want an exceptionally good look at some of the stunning features on the lunar surface, Saturday will be the time to see them.

One of the easiest features to spot, called the Tycho crater and shown in the photo below, will be worth a look, wrote Tim Hunter for the Arizona Daily Star:
(http://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BBmapyY.img?h=692&w=728&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f)
© Provided by Business Insider FullMoon2010


Gregory H. Revera on WikipediaWe call these slightly larger versions of our full moon supermoons, and they can appear between 12% to 14% larger and shine 25-30 times brighter, according to TimeandDate.com

While the physical moon will not actually grow in size, it will appear bigger in the night sky because it is slightly closer to Earth than normal. Below is a photo that shows a supermoon on the right compared to an average full moon on the left:

(http://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BBmaF5w.img?h=727&w=728&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f)

© Provided by Business Insider Supermoon_comparison



Gregory H. Revera on WikipediaWhenever any celestial body reaches its closest approach to Earth — whether it is the moon, Mars, or a comet — astronomers call that moment perigee.

The moon reaches perigee about once every time it completes its elliptical orbit around Earth, which takes about 27 days. On average, the moon is 238,800 miles from Earth, but at perigee it is 225,804 miles away.

Although the moon reaches perigee regularly, that doesn't mean that once every 27 days, we're treated to a supermoon, like this one from 2013 showing the supermoon rising above the Umaid Bhawan Palace:
© Provided by Business Insider supermoon


Gregory H. Revera on Wikipedia A supermoon can only happen when two events line up in time: perigee and a full moon. (You can also have a supermoon during a new moon, but we cannot see new moons, so the event would be anti-climatic, to say the least.)

This magical alignment, shown in the illustration below, only happens between three to four times a year, according to EarthSky.org.

And as it turns out, we'll have a pretty close match this weekend: The moon will be fullest at exactly 2:35 p.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 29 and reach perigee the next day, about 20 hours later, at 11 a.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 30, according to Space.com.


© Provided by Business Insider supermoon



Gregory H. Revera on WikipediaHow close these two events line up in time helps determine how brilliant of a supermoon we can see. However, there's another factor that comes into play, which has to do with the moon's orbit.

Perigee is not a concrete number: it changes every lunar orbit. So, the distance the moon is to Earth at perigee for one orbit can be slightly larger or smaller than during another orbit.


For example, the moon's perigee this month will bring it to exactly 222,631 miles from Earth. But next month, on Sept. 28, perigee will happen when the moon is even closer: 221,753 miles from Earth.

In fact, September's lunar perigee is special because it's the closest perigee of the entire year. As a result, this perigee gets a special name: proxigee.

And lucky for supermoon gazers, the full moon will fall on that same night of Sept. 28, making September's supermoon the best of the year. We won't see another supermoon like September's until November of 2016.

If you get any shots of the Saturday's supermoon, send them with a description, your name, and location to our space science writer at jorwig@businessinsider.com and she might feature them on our site.

NOW WATCH: NASA has released images of the other side of the Moon that we've never seen before
http://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-images-dark-side-moon-earth-lunar-reconnaissance-orbiter-2015-2?utm_source=microsoft&utm_medium=referral


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http://www.examiner.com/article/last-full-moon-of-summer-occurs-this-saturday-it-s-also-a-supermoon

August 27, 2015
5:25 PM MST

A full moon, the last one this summer will occur this Saturday, August 29th. It will also be a supermoon. A supermoon, also named Perigee-Syzygy happens when a full moon or new moon coincides with the moon's closest approach to the Earth. During a month, when the moon is closest to Earth, its' called perigee and when it's farthest away from Earth, its' called apogee.

The name Supermoon was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979. By Nolle's definition, the new moon or full moon has to come within 224,834 miles of our planet, as measured from the centers of the moon and Earth, in order to be considered a supermoon. This Saturday the moon will be 222,631 miles from the Earth.

According to Nolle's definition, the year 2015 has a total of six supermoons. The first three came as new moons on January 20, February 18 and March 20. That same definition dictates that the full moons of August, September and October will be supermoons, too.

Supermoons have been blamed for natural disasters such as earthquakes, tidal waves and volcanic eruptions. Many scientists have conducted studies and have found that there is no significant link with a supermoon and any natural disasters.

Due to its closeness to the Earth, a supermoon is larger and brighter in appearance. In eastern Pennsylvania this Saturday evening, moonrise is around 7:30 p.m. and sunset is a few minutes later. Skies are forecasted to be partly cloudy with a very slight chance of isolated thunderstorms late in the day.

This will also be the last full moon of the summer. And your last chance this summer to do a full moon paddle. Full moon paddles in groups can be especially fun and interesting if the weather co-operates. Remember, any kayak, canoe, inflatable raft or paddleboard on the water after dusk must have a hand-held or installed white light to be displayed in time to avoid a collision with another craft. A rear blinking light is also helpful. Making yourself visible to other boats, especially motorboats is very important. Bicycles lights work well. All paddlers should pair up so no one is lost or left behind. Don't forget to take along a camera for picture taking.

Time to dust off the binoculars.  Maybe drive out to Watkins, to get away from some of the lights.

Shasta