THE MOON IS SUPER

There is something about the Moon lighting up the night sky and making all of the stars into a backdrop that is fascinating. Like the Sun it somehow cheers us up. We think, well ‘things can’t be all bad’, there’s the Moon as usual in the sky. It seems a constant, though apparently it did not always exist in the sky.

On Tuesday we experienced our third SuperMoon in a row*. This one was also a Harvest Moon because of the fall/autumn month in which it occurred. 

This year we had one on July 12^th, August 10^th and now September 9^th. When there is what is called a SuperMoon, it appears 14 times larger and 30% brighter because it is at its closest point to the earth.

Apparently what we call a SuperMoon, however, is neither unique or unusual. The fact that the Moon was not always in the sky is actually more interesting. 4.5 billion years ago, it appeared according to the ‘giant impact’ hypothesis. This heralded the creation of the 5th largest satellite in the solar system.

One of our latest Car Commercials shows a Man and his Son driving down a road which appears to have the Moon at the end of it. 

One of our Google Circle posted a wonderful photo of the Atlantic Coast Road in Norway with its raised portion appearing to almost touch the Moon.

However, you view the Moon, whether through physics, romantically or thinking of it as an influence for the tides or crazy public behaviour when it is Full; The Moon, especially a Super Moon brings out the reflective side in all of us.

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/sep/09/-sp-10-things-you-should-know-about-the-supermoon

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/10jul_supermoons/