19 March 2011 by Tristan Gooley
Just managed to snap the ‘supermoon’ as it rose above the woodland to the east of me. This photo was taken tonight at 19.03 GMT.
Tonight’s moon is the first time that a full moon has coincided with perigee, that is the moment when the moon is closest in its orbit, for 18 years. This is no ordinary perigee either, the moon will be 30,000 miles closer to Earth than usual. The result is what has been nicknamed a ‘supermoon’.
The best time to appreciate its enlarged size is when it is close to your horizon, rising or setting. Since it is a full moon this will be close to the time of your sunset and then sunrise.
There are some fascinating musings in todays Telegraph about any possible influence of this supermoon on tectonic activity, of greatest interest of course: earthquakes.
Tags: full moon, perigee moon, sunrise, sunset, supermoon |
17 December 2008 by Tristan Gooley
On Monday night I gave my lecture, ‘Travel and Exploration: a new direction?’ to the Royal Geographical Society. I really enjoyed it, but with about five hundred people in the audience it was fun in a pulse-quickening kind of way. It is time for a little confession.
Last Friday was a full moon and no ordinary full moon either. It was a perigee full moon, when the moon passes closest to the earth and appears a lot larger than normal. On Friday evening it was due to be the largest full moon that we had seen for 50 years. There were also due to be meteors from the Germinid showers.
I am not generally a hugely superstitious creature, although I do enjoy reading about the historical and cultural associations surrounding sky omens. At the end of last week it was easier for me to see how these connections and beliefs…
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Tags: meteors, omens and portents, perigee moon, rgs lecture, tristan gooley |
Just managed to snap the ‘supermoon’ as it rose above the woodland to the east of me. This photo was taken tonight at 19.03 GMT.
