Catch the Biggest ‘Supermoon’ of 2012 Tonight!
- Posted on May 5, 2012 at 2:30pm by
Liz Klimas
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2011 Supermoon (Photo: Susan Wagener via Space.com)
NEW YORK (The Blaze/AP) — The biggest and brightest full moon of the year arrives Saturday night as our celestial neighbor passes closer to Earth than usual.
But don’t expect any “must-have-been-a-full-moon” spike in crime or crazy behavior. That’s just folklore.
The full moon rises behind the Temple of Poseidon in Cape Sounion, south east of Athens, Greece, while tourists watch, on Saturday, May 5, 2012. Saturday's event is a "supermoon," the closest and therefore the biggest and brightest full moon of the year. (AP Photo/Dimitri Messinis)
Saturday’s event is a “supermoon,” the closest and therefore the biggest and brightest full moon of the year. At 11:34 p.m., the moon will be about 221,802 miles from Earth. That’s about 15,300 miles closer than average.
That proximity will make the moon appear about 14 percent bigger than it would if the moon were at its farthest distance, said Geoff Chester of the U.S. Naval Observatory. The difference in appearance is so small that “you’d be very hard-pressed to detect that with the unaided eye,” he said.
Source SPACE.com: All about our solar system, outer space and exploration
The moon’s distance from Earth varies because it follows an elliptical orbit rather than a circular one.
Like any full moon, the supermoon will look bigger when it’s on or near the horizon rather than higher in the sky, thanks to an optical illusion, Chester noted. The full moon appears on the horizon at sunset. On the East coast, for example, that will be a bit before 8 p.m. Saturday.
The supermoon of March 2011 behind the Washington, D.C.'s Lincoln Memorial. (Photo: NASA/Bill Ingalls via Space.com)
The supermoon will bring unusually high tides because of its closeness and its alignment with the sun and Earth, but the effect will be modest, Chester said.
Check out NASA‘s video about this year’s supermoon:
The last supermoon, on March 19, 2011, was about 240 miles closer than this year’s will be. Next year‘s will be a bit farther away than this year’s.
But no matter how far away a full moon is, it’s not going to make people kill themselves or others, commit other crimes, get admitted to a psychiatric hospital or do anything else that popular belief suggests, a psychologist says.
Studies that have tried to document such connections have found “pretty much a big mound of nothing, as far as I can tell,” said Scott Lilienfeld of Emory University.
(Photo: Dmitry Benbau via Space.com)
Lilienfeld, an author of “50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology,“ said the notion of full moons causing bizarre behavior ranks among the top 10 myths because ”it‘s so widely held and it’s held with such conviction.”
Why do people cling to the idea?
Lilienfeld said a key reason could be the way people pay attention to things. If something unusual happens to occur during a full moon, people who believe the myth take note and remember, even telling other people because it confirms their ideas. But when another full moon appears and nothing out of the ordinary occurs, “they’re not very likely to remember” or point it out to others.
So in the end, he said, all they remember are the coincidences.
Check out more pictures of last year’s March supermoon here. If you snap any cool pictures of the supermoon over the weekend, send them my way klimas@theblaze.com.
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Comments (97)
4xeverything
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 9:55pmI watched the supermoon rise and I didn’t see the big S I was expecting to see. That is one bright@ss moon though. Did anyone else catch it tonight?
Report Post »momrules
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 10:34pmEast Texas here. I just came in from watching it. Beautiful!!
Report Post »Rayblue
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 10:52pmThe coast of South Texas is cloudy yet. But when it emerges it’s orange as a Sunkist.
Report Post »The-Monk
Posted on May 6, 2012 at 1:29amTampa, Fl here… it’s a clear night but hard to see from all the gun powder and fireworks from the Cinco de Mayo celebrations. Put the car under the large Oak Tree again to shield it from all the falling bullets.
Report Post »nzkiwi
Posted on May 6, 2012 at 6:33amI saw it (in New Zealand) low on the horizon just as it was getting dark when my 5 year old suddenly said “why is the moon so big?”.
I thought is must have been an atmospheric thing because it was so low down. Now I know. It was certainly very much bigger than usual, so maybe atmospheric distortion was also involved.
Report Post »4xeverything
Posted on May 6, 2012 at 8:30amThis was so neat to read. Here in Cincinnati we watched it rise from behind the hills and trees of our local wildlife preserve. It looked as if the forest was on fire until the moon rose over the tree line. Then, we turned off all of the lights and sat on our deck with drinks by the light of the moon.
Report Post »Stoic one
Posted on May 6, 2012 at 9:23amLoveland OH (Cincinnati suburb)
Report Post »Last night went out several times to look… most notably brighter!
mils
Posted on May 6, 2012 at 11:00amthat moon was so bright, like a sun!!…appeared bigger?..i couldn’t tell..just BRIGHT!!!!!
Report Post »tryingtostaypositive
Posted on May 6, 2012 at 12:50pmSure did. In fact, it was so bright, it turned the night sky blue overhead. Weird and beautiful.
Report Post »scruffycat
Posted on May 6, 2012 at 2:08pmYes here on the west coast I watched our only satellite in all its super hugeness rise behind the Dope House on the Corner. Its size and brightness may have scared them somewhat as along about 2am they seemed to be streaming out of their house and into the alley behind their place, tweaking even harder than normal with their “picking bugs out of the air” wild arm and torso motions going simultaneous with their legs and feet whipping around like they are all at once playing Hacky Sack and “kick the gravel”. I was going to go out into my back yard and plant these Bamboo seeds under the light of the Super Moon but instead I went onto 4 chan for a while, in the /x/ paranormal forum, and everybody there were wondering if Super Wolfman would come out along with the Super Moon, all hungry and looking for Super Supper or something. I was wondering what with the moon closer to us and all if it would be possible to use a telescope to see the secret Space Shuttle Moonbase which has been built up over the last many years with all the Dark Shuttle launches out of the Deep Black Vandenberg Air Force Base. Maybe see them fueling up the Dark Shuttles, adjusting their Earthward facing missles, talking with the Aliens we found there, and launching their converted Dark Shuttles out to other planets in the Solar System. Super Moon (yeah)…
Report Post »SERUM
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 8:12pmDon‘t tell me it’s just folklore….ever hear of“Lunatics”? With the average human being over 70-80% water and the earth’s tides effected has no effect on humans?
Report Post »I‘m sure if hung out your local hospital ER you’ll defiantly see a surge of lunacy!
jcldwl
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 9:33pm11 years of police work here….it has an affect.
Report Post »FLSunshine
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 9:41pmRight…defiantly.
Report Post »1proud_Texan
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 11:18pm10 years as ER nurse- it has an effect!
Report Post »casseopea42
Posted on May 6, 2012 at 1:16pm15 years working customer service in call centers….full moon always means an interesting last night shift.
Report Post »Razlord
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 8:00pmhunters moon.
Report Post »hatchetjob
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 7:51pmI heard on Coast to Coast that there may be an earthquake or two because of this moon, of course if there is a quake it will be in Indonesia or in the middle of the Atlantic, NOT in California where one is needed.
Report Post »AllAmericanGirl22
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 7:33pmWow, amazing…look out for werewolves lol
Report Post »TheVoice1
Posted on May 6, 2012 at 1:00pmI don’t know what happened last night…. I woke up naked in the woods …as I sat up I could see just a little ways from me an 8 point buck with his throat ate out…. when I finally got home I ran to the bathroom to wash up and as I looked in the mirror to do so I could plainly see that I had a tattoo of Marlyn Monroe on my forehead with the words Remember the Alamo under it…. lol
It really was a beautiful moon, just thought you could use a chuckle
Report Post »GLENNS_FUTURE_BABY_MOMMA
Posted on May 6, 2012 at 5:54pmWerewolves are an invention of the Hollyweird-socialist-leftist-intellectual agenda. I don’t watch TV — except to watch Fox News and old Matlock reruns. Turn your boob-tubes off and read the Holy Bible!
Praise Ronnie Reagan!
Report Post »scuba13
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 7:03pmNothing like a full moon viewed at 50 feet underwater in warm Carribean waters.
Report Post »claymoremacm
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 7:43pmI can use my regular scope and not my night vision scope…smiles
Report Post »jespasinthru
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 9:32pmNow you’re making me jealouse. I haven’t been down there in several years, and now you have made me miss it.
Report Post »Lesbian Packing Hollow Points
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 6:38pmThat’s no super moon. It’s a super space station.
Report Post »OperationNorthwoods
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 5:33pmNewt will be out with his telescope looking for suitable locations for his moon base.
Report Post »hatchetjob
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 7:55pmShelia Jackson Lee will see it and think it’s Mars.
Report Post »Lesbian Packing Hollow Points
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 9:13pmObama will see it and try to tax it. And when the sky starts falling, he’ll try to subsidize it.
Report Post »Jaye Byrd
Posted on May 6, 2012 at 1:42amIf the President had a moon, it would look li…..oh nevermind.
Report Post »The-Monk
Posted on May 6, 2012 at 1:43am@Lesbian Packing Hollow Points
Report Post »: )
blackyb
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 5:28pmShake your boooooty. Shake your booooooty.
Report Post »blackyb
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 5:21pmWe got overcast here. Guess I will miss that and not catch the moon madness. Guess I got enough.
Report Post »qpwillie
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 5:07pmSay/think what you want but if you play the guitar and have a gig tonight, have plenty of extra strings. On a full moon night, you’ll break multiple times more than usual. I don’t know the physics behind it but it has never failed over many years of playing.
Many times on full moon nights, I have had strings break between songs when I wasn’t even playing.
Report Post »AmazingGrace8
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 6:59pmHi Willie Nelson. You came to Big Sky Mt., in the year 1999. When you started playing, there was a down-pour of rain but you just kept on playing under the cover and we die-hard Willie fans held-up our umbrellas and if we were going to be struck by lightning, well at least we could be considered “flying too close to the ground”!!!
Report Post »It has been raining most of the day and cloudy. Last night, saw the full moon a few hours after the neighborhood lost power for about 5 hours. I sure missed watching “Grimm” episode last night..have to wait for the re-runs. Sure going to be a “dismal” time for America when we all are going to have to rely on moon-energy, oops, I meant, solar energy to run our lights & tv. Talked to the power guy and there was one neighbor that was “complaining” & so I piped-up and meant it from the bottom of my heart…thank you power man for coming & fixing the problem…“We Love You”….He smiled & said you are welcome. The pouty neighbor looked at me and stormed off. And the beat goes on!
marine249
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 4:53pmam going for a moon glow tan
Report Post »blackyb
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 5:30pmBe sure and take the little ones.
Report Post »seeker9
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 4:33pmThink I’ll have a moon pie.
Report Post »Rayford
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 4:30pmThey say the full moon does not cause crimes or odd behavior. Probably true.
However, thieves take advantage of the “free light” to go do their pillaging. They dont have to carry a flashlight.
Report Post »When I had my auto salvage yard, full moon nights were my busiest crime nights.
TIME_2_END_THE_PAUL_CAMPAIGN_IN_12
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 4:49pmDoctors and Nurses in E.R.’s all across America beg to differ with the “folklore’ conclusion…
Report Post »circleDwagons
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 5:25pmi‘m glad i’m not on duty tonight, i’ve had my full moon experiences. The fact that TIME is out is enough proof for me
Report Post »TIME_2_END_THE_PAUL_CAMPAIGN_IN_12
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 6:30pmCIRCLED. You being in the housekeeping dept doesn’t count as really being “on duty”, more like “on call” Lol. But hey, I’m no OB/GYN either…
Report Post »jespasinthru
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 10:12pmAnd on top of all that, today was Cinco De Mayo. Most of the Hispanic-American janitors and dishwashers at my job will be dragging their butts to work all tired and hungover tomorrow. They partied all this night with their chubby little girlfriends. And most of them are young boys, so you can’t really crack the whip at them. I can reason with the young white boys and the young black boys at work, they don‘t like the job anyway and they won’t be here long because the work is hard to them. But the Hispanics will stick around. If they speak good American and their papers are legit, then you have to treat ‘em right. Because they are valuable.
Report Post »raderby
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 4:29pmdon’t cite just one lib shrink.
The question is- can it be scientifically proved that there is a relationship between full moon and an increase in the number of crime rates. There have been a number of studies conducted in United States. Various studies failed to find that the stage of lunar cycle somehow relates to the number of suicides, birth rates, dog bites and crime rates. YET, there are a number of researchers of human behavior who have conducted studies that revealed astonishing results for full moon nights. In these studies, events like arson, manslaughter, rash driving and kleptomania were seen to increase on full moon nights by a considerable margin.
A new dimension was added to the study by Arnold Lieber of University of Miami. This psychologist says that because human body is nearly 80 % water, there is a strong possibility that it experiences biological tides. This leads to emotional impact based upon the different phases of moon. Compare this to the case of tides which occur in sea due to the gravitational pull between the earth and the moon.
The doctor undertook a study in Dade County, Florida. This study includes 1887 murders spanning a period of 15 years. The study revealed that the rate of murder tends to correlate with the phase of moon so the murders on full moon were definitely higher than other days.
Report Post »blackyb
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 5:22pmThey just could see better to kill folks.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 4:26pmI want to see… the Butt Crack!
Report Post »blackyb
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 5:23pmGet in front of a full length mirror, drop your drawers and look back over your shoulder. You should be able to see your butt crack.
Report Post »raderby
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 4:22pmI like the ref to lib psych saying nothing to the full moon lunacy. One guy’s opinion – just one – - – he believe in God? Did you ask that? 10 to 1, he says he is an atheist. So he has his opinion, and many others, opposite. Studies HAVE shown correlation between full moons and increased crime, murder rate, suicides. Refer to logical studies, not opinions, please.
Report Post »82dAirborne
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 3:55pmok.
Report Post »vtxphantom
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 3:13pmI have my wooden stakes at hand for all the werewolves coming out.
Report Post »SovereignSoul
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 3:48pmWooden stakes are for vampires. You should stock up on silver bullets!
Report Post »Wyatt's Torch
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 4:16pmForget vampires and werewolves, worry about the liberal moonbats flitting about… well that and mexicans with too many cinco de mayo cuervesas howling at the moon
Report Post »cloudsofwar
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 3:07pmthe land on the west coast of fruits and nuts will be extra nutty tonight.
Report Post »super six four
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 3:04pmJust ask a police officer about that full moon thing and spike in criminal behavior.
Report Post »4xeverything
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 3:52pmWhen I was a bartender, more times than you would imagine you could just feel the weird in the air. Then someone pass by talking about it being a full moon. Whether it’s just a feeling or an actual thing, the freaks definitely find their way out during the full moon.
Report Post »marine249
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 4:03pm@4X
the night of the dems, libs,ows and other nuts
Report Post »TXMD
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 4:33pmI’ve worked as Emergency Medicine Surgeon at various teaching hospitals since I retired from the military. There may not be anything “to” behavior and a full moon. However, like last night, every full moon brings out five times the people to the ER with about five times the seriousness of their situations. Also, ever increasing impacts of drug overdoses. I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fullness of that neighboring body out there in the sky. However, we staff the ER for higher influx at every full moon. Lately, people who are brought to our ER seem to be representing the general social, political and economic conditions here in big city Texas.
Report Post »momrules
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 2:58pmI love to watch the moon, it draws me for some reason. I am looking forward to seeing this wonder tonight and am just hoping for clear skies. My part of the East Texas woods has been a little cloudy lately.
Report Post »By the by, I am a believer in the full moon effect and I do know that when I was nursing there were more babies born during the full moon than at other times. The ER gets much busier too.
SHOOTnCRASH
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 5:37pmYou might be a werewolf.
Report Post »walkandtalk
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 9:20pmYour love and awe of the heavens shows you appreciate it’s beauty. The response of shootncrash was a poor attempt at humor.
Report Post »SHOOTnCRASH
Posted on May 6, 2012 at 3:19pmlighten up walkandtalk. the fact that you negatively commented on my completely harmless comment in the way you did shines a light on what a pompous ass you must be in life.
Report Post »Psychosis
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 2:57pmThe last supermoon, on March 19, 2011, was about 240 miles closer than this year’s will be. Next year‘s will be a bit farther away than this year’s.
and the year after will be even further , which makes me ask the question, when the seas start to recede, how will the left explain the fact that the oceans are no longer rising ??????
according to them
the sun doesnt cause warming
the moon doesnt cause rising seas
it must be climate change
lmfao
Report Post »blackyb
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 5:26pmThey will think of something. They always do. Whether it is true or not is not relevant to them.
Report Post »KickinBack
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 2:44pm“But don’t expect any “must-have-been-a-full-moon” spike in crime or crazy behavior. That’s just folklore.”
It’s Saturday…And cinco de mayo at that…I’m sure at least there will be a lot of crazy drunk kids out tonight.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 2:40pmI thought maybe Michelle was going to stick her @ss out of a White House window.
Report Post »marine249
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 2:45pmcould not see it at night.
Report Post »momrules
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 2:51pmGonzo I have had a humorless day today, been feeling kind of cranky but you just made me laugh………again……. The visual you planted in my mind may come back to haunt me though.
Report Post »cloudsofwar
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 3:06pmgonzo thanks for the image. i didn’t need that.
Report Post »82dAirborne
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 3:56pmNo chance of that: No White House windows LARGE enough!
Report Post »blaaaaackwoman
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 4:06pmHopefully there will not be any celestial objects coiling off the surface of the moon and dropping into space.
Report Post »Rayford
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 4:53pmEww the dark side of the moon…with pimples.
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