Community Corner

Don't Miss Saturday's Super Moon

The 'Perigee Moon' on May 5 will be 30 percent brighter and 14 percent bigger than usual, and dogs will be howling.

You might want to keep your eyes open tonight at around 11:34 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The Moon is going be quite spectacular, according to NASA Science News.

May’s full Moon is a "Super Moon,” and will be as much as 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than other full Moons of 2012. Known as a "perigee moon," it will line up with Earth and the sun to become brilliantly full.

The sky cover will be 48 percent this evening, but that doesn't mean you won't be able to see the Super Moon. And according to Weather Bug it will be a pleasant 72 degrees outside, definitely worth stepping out into the backyard or to the deck.

Find out what's happening in Alpharetta-Miltonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

NASA describes the phenomenon like this: "Full Moons vary in size because of the oval shape of the Moon's orbit. The Moon follows an elliptical path around Earth with one side ("perigee") about 50,000 km closer than the other ("apogee"). Full Moons that occur on the perigee side of the Moon's orbit seem extra big and bright."

As a result, there will be unusually high and low tides this weekend and into next week.

Find out what's happening in Alpharetta-Miltonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Conversely, on Nov. 28 this year, the full Moon will closely coincide with apogee, the moon's farthest point from Earth.

Full moons have been blamed for all sorts of things through the ages - hospital admissions are said to increase, as does the crime rate, and people act oddly. In the Middle Ages the full Moon was thought to cause lunacy, a word that comes from the Latin term for Moon.

No matter. Enjoy the view.

 


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