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Dimitri Messinis / AP
The full moon rises behind the Temple of Poseidon in Cape Sounion, southeast of Athens, Greece, while tourists watch on May 5. Saturday's event is a "supermoon," the closest and therefore the biggest and brightest full moon of the year.
Saturday night's "supermoon" is the biggest and brightest full moon of the year, due to the fact that the moon is near the closest point in its orbital path around Earth. But just how much bigger and brighter does it look? That's a tricky question.
Most reports say the moon looks 14 percent bigger than usual, which is close to the truth but isn't quite right. They also say it's 30 percent brighter than usual, which isn't right, either. James Garvin, chief scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, ran the numbers to come up with an explanation that seems to make the most sense.
Read more about Garvin's explanation.
-- Reported by msnbc.com's Alan Boyle
Ralph Lauer / Zuma Press
A supermoon rises over neon hotel signs on Highway 80 in Ft. Worth, Texas.
Mark Blinch / Reuters
The moon rises over the skyline in Toronto, Canada, May 5.
Wilfredo Lee / AP
People fish from a jetty as the moon rises over the Atlantic Ocean, May 5, near Bal Harbour, Fla.
Asmaa Waguih / Reuters
A full moon is seen behind the minaret of Mohamed Ali mosque, in Islamic Cairo, Egypt, May 5.
The biggest full moon of the year, a so-called "supermoon," rose into the night sky to the delight of skywatchers around the world. NBC's Charles Hadlock reports.
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"Most reports say the moon looks 14 percent bigger than usual, which is close to the truth but isn't quite right. They also say it's 30 percent brighter than usual, which isn't right, either."
So what you're saying is that the moon is brighter than most media sources... got it.
Heh, yes, sometimes I definitely feel like a dim bulb myself. The best way to say it is that the moon's apparent angular size is 14 percent greater when it's at perigee (like tonight) than when it's at apogee (farthest distance from Earth). A full moon at perigee would be 30 percent brighter than a full moon at apogee. The "average" or "usual" apparent size and brightness would be somewhere in between. ;-)
I recall a night from my mis-spent youth, when we were camping out... Before people really recognized the 'Super Moon' No one wanted to sleep... It's a site to share with friends... Obviously, 35 years later it's one of those memories that stay with you...
It is beautiful!!! No need to say anything nasty or off-topic. It is beautiful!!!!
Too Cool!!!! Thanks God!!!!!
god is imaginary.
Thank you Greg!! I am so sick of these religious idiots!!
I like how the article shows the supermoon rising behind the temple of Poseidon, and then someone makes a comment to "...thanks God"....the irony never stops
Thanks to any god of ancient history. Helios, Poseidon, Zeus, Athena, Apollo, Metztli, Allah, "god" and any other mythological gods of mans creation. It's beautiful and we are lucky to be alive to see it. May the Grunion be with you.
All Michelle said was "Thanks god" and you athiests call her an idiot right off the bat. If you don't like her comment, just ignore it, don't complain about it!
Funny thing is, even atheists can be biggot's.Only their logical way of thinking is okay, if anyone says otherwise man, they're delusional, insane, etc... I guess the door only swings one way with the few above?
Pray to God for mercy on your souls, if you are wrong, and I am right that there is a God. If there's not, hey, I lived life like a good moral person.
I'll happily knock you down a peg, as you so happily knock me and anyone else of faith down. I was born into sin, and I am forgiven. But I'll never be quiet about it.
And this super moon, it's pretty. But it's nothing special. I'll never forget the time when I was a kid and it just looked like it was sitting on the river in Philadelphia, it was so big. Makes this one look tiny.
I don't care how imaginary it is if it gets the job done. That's why I use numbers and words in my day to day life and have a personal identity, despite the fact that rationally speaking I'm just a sack of water and carbon that will blink out of being a discreet object and dissolve in 1-90 years within a universe that is over 10,000,000,000 years old. I'll take an imaginary God that helps me convene with the irrational parts of my own psyche over blind faith in the power of human reason to transcend my innately human irrationality, any day. Especially if that God can't be rationally proven not to exist and the intuitive hunches of millions of the most sophisticated computers known to man (human minds) over thousands of years have supported God's/gods' existence.
Greg at #3.1
It is the imagination of the human mind that has created God. Those who believe cannot prove God's existence and those who don't believe cannot prove otherwise. The way I see it, there is no evidence either way, so I have taken the safe path, that just in case God is there, I belive in his existence and pray for peace on earth. If God is not there, then what have I lost? Just some imagination.
hell. I'm not an athiest. I'm agnostic. It's all mythology to me. If I had to pick a god...I'd pick Thor. Or Mother Nature.
Well, Heather, we atheists may be bigots, but at least we know how to spell, or at least use the spell-checking function.
Oh, and please to don't pray to save my soul - if I'm wrong and there is indeed a Heaven and a Hell, I'd much rather go to the hot place - at least the people there are way more interesting.
Well Gumps, you would be happy to see Hitler and Josef Stalin down there. You say that you don't mind going to Hell, but the truth is, the first second you are in Hell, you would wish that you believed in god. Tempatures in Hell are so hot, not even man can name those tempatures.
This blog is a most amazing collection of thoughts. Full moon's of any nature are twice as big when the viewer is in the arms of the one who sparkles their imagination. Prove that wrong.
Another you're going to hell dwit. Oh but he (see that right off the bat it's a male) loves you.. BUT YOU WILL GO TO HELL IF YOU DON'T PRAY TO HIM. Nice old world cult sound to it.
It's like Mark Twain said: Go to Heaven for the climate and Hell for the company. Seeing as I'm Wiccan, I look forward to some interesting parties with all of societies misfits and a-holes. Good thing I'm not a fan of cold, either.
Random Pennsylvanian, it's rather presumptuous for you to assume what I wish or not wish. If you subscribe to the notion that we were each given free will, then you should respect one's choice even if you don't agree with it. At any rate, I'm confident that there is no God, no Heaven or Hell. But hey - there's anyway that possibility that I'm wrong. And if I am, I stand by my decision.
The silly thing about this whole God thing is that we were all endowed with a curious mind. And your God sets up an experiment that's rigged for us to fail (don't eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge. And your God got pissed because Adam did what anybody would do? What an idiotic deity! And this guy was responsible for creation? Your God is a moron, so I think I'll go with the other guy - again my choice!
Grumps, do you not believe in giving people respect for ones choice? I do, even if their thinking is different from mine. The great thing about America is everyone is entitled to their own belief or opinion regardless. To get respect you have to give respect that's all. Oh by the way, dont put people down for the way they spell because you wrote "one's", its actually "ones".
Let's just enjoy it and share it without too much criticism...it's nice to share something positive
Cool!
I'll be watching this thread just to see how nasty the back and forth will get over a full moon.
fantastic! should show the live shot on TV!
Pure evidence of no God. Only space, time, and matter in its beautiful forms.
For it to be evidence then space, time, and matter would have to answer the questions as to the physical, eithical, and moral issues of life. Sadly, by themselves they do not. The minute details and distinctions of molecular biology as well as the absence of fossil records that can demonstrate the transitional beings between levels in the species all invalidate the very theory Darwin set forth.(per is own criteria set forth as that which would be necessary for people to continue to believe his theories. As to the more basic questions - how did it all begin, where did we come from, what has gone so terribly wrong, is there any hope, what does the future hold ... a credible world view has to be able to answer these questions. I would encourage you to look deeper into the reason for why some do not believe in God. As to the irony of seeing a beautiful moon and responding with "thank God' - that is only fitting to verbalize gratitude since "the heavens declare His glory" according to Psalms 19. it is pretty hard to separate God from His physical creation but man continues to try.
Can you go 5 minutes without shoving your opinions on others? Jesus Christ...
WinterInSeattle; Thanks stupid. Oh sorry, that's my oppinion.
I just took photos, it's really nice tonight.
I'm jealous. I wanted to take shots, but we would have to drive to the Anza-Borrego to get a clean shot and schedules prevented.
I also thought about going to Anza-Borrego last night, but was way too tired. Anyway, I thought I read that the track of the "Super Moon" would be a fairly narrow band from the Oregon-California border through Nevada, Southern Utah, Northern New Mexico and occurring about 2:00 AM Sunday morning. Maybe that was just the maximum peak of perigee and full moon.
However, I did see the pics of the SuperMoon, but shouldn't it have been wearing a cape or something flashy?
Bill - No, I think that was for the "ring of fire" solar eclipse. Not sure about the time, but the track anyway.
Another astronomical event ruined by crappy Chicago weather....... *sigh*
For those that can see it, enjoy. =)
i agree jimo, i was just mentioning that to a friend when i read your post, i think the last dozen or so meteor showers have been cloaked in clouds and any other thing interesting in the sky, hell anytime i hear the aurora may be seen its also cloudy. bullcrap.
It is gorgeous, my family and I were talking about it when we were out driving this evening. I wish I would have thought to take a picture of it, now I can't because their are trees in the way on my street, I can only see a little bit of the outer edge. It just goes to show that God makes creation wonderful for us and also makes it pleasureable to look at.
Does anyone know when the Pacific coast is going to be able to view this beautiful moon? So far, we are still waiting and it is now 8:57 PST.
Does anyone know when the moon will appear over the Pacific Coast?
The Full Moon is directly opposite the Sun in the sky. The Supermoon will rise at sunset, and be up until sunrise.
I've been seeing the moon on the eastern horizon from Seattle, but if you're asking when the moon will be over the western horizon, over the Pacific as seen from the coast, that would be close to sunrise. Should be beautiful if skies are clear. If you have clear skies in the Pacific time zone, you should be seeing it by now.
Interesting civilizations: Ancient Greece, Texas, Toronto, Florida and Cairo. And the moon that have seen them all.
Yes, the moon was big and bright over Pacific Coast over. Just seen it in the Dana Point bay area.
The fact that we cannot demonstrate the existence of God is the greatest proof we need to approach Him with faith. But, weather I need to believe in order to understand, or I need to understand in order to believe is a dilemma older than all who are commenting here. Just pick your choice and to not offend others. There isn't difficult to understand we are suppose to be civilized.
Suze2323, I think at 11.35.
That moon over Athens has obviously been photoshopped.
Why do you think so?
Not necessarily. Depending on where the picture was taken from (being further back from the temple and zooming will effect the apparent size ratio), and due to an optical illusion when the moon is near horizons, it could certainly be a real photograph.
Last night I went to the store and when I looked at the sky I noticed the huge moon just hanging there. So beautiful! It set me to wondering once again why we don't have a lunar colony or city there yet. Apollo seems to have stubbed his toes. It is going to take a Branson shaming the world's most powerful governments to ever get one made & started up. Maybe the fact that its going to be China headed there next with a manned mission will light a fire under some asses in our government and NASA. Otherwise we'll always be playing 2nd or 3rd fiddle in space.
It is going to be an utter disgrace for the American government when the Russians or Chinese establish a base and start sending back pics and info about all of the huge structures they'll find already present,. You know, the ones NASA has denied for decades now and brushed out of pics released to the public (Find them yourselves. @ your web browser or @ youtube, type in moon anomalies, lunar anomalies etc... I also recommend book "Extraterrestrial Archaeology" by David Hatcher Childress). Its time to end the lies and go back to Luna with a permanent colony!
Damn....you poeple can't even look at a picture of the moon without getting into an argument.
I've been bummed out. It doesn't look any larger from my house. Looks brighter though.
I spent two hours lying in a hammock wrapped in a blanket watching the moon track across the sky. It was really awesome, even with the low cloud speeding by. Many years back I watched a lunar eclipse lying in my front yard and someone called the cops cuz they thought there was a body lying in the yard.
The full moon has waxed, Sumer Equinox is upon us and hopefully many blessing will be given by the Goddess. So wonderful that She gives us so many things that are beautiful to look at!
It's times like these that I regret living in a place where it is perpetually raining. I missed it! Oh well, I'll have another chance in...17 years...
Sigh.
Isn't it the spring Equinox and the summer solstice? Spring equinox is is march and the summer solstice is in June? Just curious.
Cosmos' moon!
I stepped out and looked up and to my amazement it seemed the same size. I was slightly disappointed but I do realize that if I had a telescope (like most observers) it would have been amazingly more detailed than any average night the full moon is out.