‘Supermoon’ to light sky over the weekend

As I write I can only wish it won’t rain so it won’t spoil anything about the grand show that is the ‘Supermoon’ occurring over the weekend.

Supermoon is what they call the biggest and brightest full moon as it appears from our perspective as earthlings.
It is said that 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 moon's distance from Earth varies because it follows an elliptical orbit rather than a circular one.

According to Chester, 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.

In fact, to view this weekend's supermoon to best effect, look for it just after it rises or before it sets, when it is close to the horizon.

He went on to say that 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.

But, that is how far as its occurrence goes. Anything else about a "must-have-been-a-full-moon" effect in crime or crazy behavior is just a folklore.

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.