Supermoon Saturday: Why It's The Biggest, Brightest Of 2012

Super Perigee Moon May 2012

The biggest and brightest full moon of the year arrives Saturday night as our celestial neighbor passes closer to Earth than usual.

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.

The moon will appear 14% larger than other full moons of 2012.  “The swollen orb rising in the East at sunset will seem super indeed.”

This doesn’t sound like a super moon — it sounds like a super duper moon.

photo: Nasa.gov

Anthony Cook, astronomical observer at L.A.’s Griffith Observatory, says the Moon will be 30% brighter, but that’s 30% brighter than the moon is when it is at “apogee” — the farthest point in its elliptical orbit around the Earth — he said.

Observant moon watchers could recognize its beauty and the best time to do this is when the moon is close to the horizon.  The “horizon illusion” makes the moon appear bigger, Cook said, “because you’re comparing it to more familiar things.”

Video: Supermoon Saturday: Why it’s the biggest, brightest of 2012

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