Quote Originally Posted by Bill W





Tim here's a quick explanation of "super"; "While the names of many moon phases are rich in folklore, the supermoonbecame”super” because ofRichard Nolle – an [url="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/astrologer?__utma=1.680598376.1300614561.130061456 1.1300614561.1&__utmb=1.1.10.1300614561&__ utmc=1&__utmx=-&__utmz=1.1300614561.1.1.utmcsr=thesaurus.com% 7Cutmccn=%28referral%29%7Cutmcmd=referral%7Cutmcct =/&__utmv=-&__utmk=16737974]astrologer[/url] with a flair for the dramatic"; predicted a particular full moon passing very close to earth would cause disastrous events.


It has currently become a common term in referencing the orbit of the moon when it comes very close to the earth, as in last night's moon. If I remember correctly, last night's was the closest in 19 years.



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Yes it is the closest perigee in 19 years "during the full moon". It is however Not the closest perigee in 19 year. There has been closer perigees more recently and will again in 2016 be even closer.


Nevertheless, The difference in apparent size from one perigee to another at perigee is so little it would be hard to tell with the naked eye. Most of the size effect distortions people see with the naked eye are caused by our atmosphere. If it weren't for recent events and the media hype people wouldn't have noticed any difference.





With all the recent hype over the super moon still lingering on, I thought this
article might be interesting for those who pay too much attention to the
mainstream media, and "astrologers".

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/obser...118265299.html


Even
if you take pictures for comparison of two different full Moons at perigee, there
would be no guarantee in it's accuracy. One might look larger or smaller than
the other, but is that truly because of its distance to the Earth? Or could it
be atmospheric distortions? Most likely the Atmosphere!
To get a realistic comparison when the size
difference is so little, everything would have to be the same for each. I.e. The camera and lens or telescope, the
location and time of day, the elevation above the horizon, and more importantly
the atmospheric conditions would have to be the same. Good luck with that.