SUPERMOON Cometh! March 19th

[TOvA~]

Extreme Super (Full) Moon to Cause Chaos?
Mar 1, 2011; 7:54 AM ET http://www.accuweather.com/blogs/astrono...-chaos.asp

Coming up later this month (March 19 to be exact) the moon will make its closest approach to Earth (called lunar perigee) in 18 years. A new or full moon at 90% or greater of its closest perigee to Earth has been named a "SuperMoon" by astrologer Richard Nolle. This term has been recently picked up by astronomers. An extreme "SuperMoon" is when the moon is full or new as well as at its 100% greater mean perigee (closest) distance to earth. By this definition, last month's full moon, this month's and next month's will all be extreme "SuperMoons".

I have read several "new age" forecasts that go something like this: "Extreme SuperMoon this month (March 2011) will bring strong earthquakes and storms and/or unusual climate patterns." Google the term 'extreme SuperMoon March 2011' and see for yourself what comes up. The validity of these types of forecasts can be debated ad nauseum.

There were SuperMoons in 1955, 1974, 1992 and 2005. These years had their share of extreme weather. Is the Super Moon and the extreme weather a coincidence? Some would say yes; some would say no. I'm not here to pick sides and say I'm a believer or non-believer in subjects like this, but as a scientist I know enough to ask questions and try to find answers.

We obviously know that there are scientific laws that say the moon affects the Earth (i.e. tides). There are also less proven theories that say the moon affects the Earth (i.e. abnormal behavior during a full moon). Can the Super (full) Moon contribute to extreme weather?

AccuWeather Facebook fanpage member Daniel Vogler adds, "The last extreme super moon occurred was on January 10th, 2005, right around the time of the 9.0 Indonesia earthquake. That extreme super moon was a new moon. So be forewarned. Something BIG could happen on or around this date. (+/- 3 Days is my guess)"

So what can we expect this time? Earthquakes? Volcanic eruptions? I guess we can only wait and see.

[DR]

The Moon's orbit around the Earth is elliptical, with a substantial eccentricity (as major Solar System bodies go) of 5.49%. In addition, the tidal effect of the Sun's gravitational field increases the eccentricity when the orbit's major axis is aligned with the Sun-Earth vector or, in other words, the Moon is full or new.

The combined effects of orbital eccentricity and the Sun's tides result in a substantial difference in the apparent size and brightness of the Moon at perigee and apogee. Extreme values for perigee and apogee distance occur when perigee or apogee passage occurs close to a new or full Moon, and long-term extremes are in the months near to Earth's perihelion passage (closest approach to the Sun, when the Sun's tidal effects are strongest) in the first few days of January.

Extreme perigees and apogees always occur close to a new or full Moon. The mean distance is not equidistant between the minimum and maximum because the Sun's gravity perturbs the orbit away from a true ellipse. Although the absolute extremes are separated by many years, almost every year has a perigee and apogee close enough to the absolute limits to be indistinguishable at this scale. So this phenomenon is NOT A BIG DEAL AS TO WORRY ABOUT WHAT MAY HAPPEN.

The Moon's orbit is inclined 5.145396° with regard to the ecliptic (the plane in which the Earth's orbit around the Sun lies or, more precisely, the plane in which the center of gravity of the Earth-Moon system [its barycenter] orbits the Sun), so as seen from the center of the Earth the Moon drifts up and down slightly more than five degrees in the course of each orbit.
The Moon's orbital inclination, combined with the inclination of the Earth's axis of rotation, causes the Moon's declination, as observed from the Earth, to vary between ±28.5° when the Moon's inclination adds to that of the Earth, and ±18° when the two inclinations oppose one another; the maxima and minima of declination repeat every 18.6 years, the period in which the ascending node of the Moon's orbit precesses through a full circle.

The mean (avg) distance between the moon and the earth is 384401 km---238856 mi.

Mar 19 2011 Perigee 356577 km---221567 mi
Jan 04 1912 Perigee 356375 km---221441 mi Record 126 miles closer than this year.


Apr 2 2011 Apogee 406655 km---252684 mi
Feb 3 2125 Apogee 406720 km---252724 mi Record 76 miles farther than this year.

There is only a 202 mile difference between the extremes and the mean, and a maximum distance between Apogee and Perigee of 31,283 miles or 4 earth radii.

Records based on the 375 year period from 1750 through 2125.

[TOvA~]

AWESOME info Doc!!
"They" will make "news" out of anything!! lol

[DR]

AWESOME info Doc!!
"They" will make "news" out of anything!! lol

Ain't that the truth. lol

[TOvA~]

ALTHOUGH.... look at Japan this morning.... YIKES!!!

[DR]

I know it's horrible. The aftershocks are major earthquakes in themselves above 6.0. Though it has nothing to do with the moon and all to do with subduction faults.

[TOvA~]

why would it have nothing to do with the moon?
'plain in engish please...lol

[DR]

أنها كل شيء عن الصفائح يا عزيزي

[DR]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plate_tectonics

[catrynmay]

Okay so I can tottaly agree with the plate techtonics causing the earthquake. However lets think outside the box... the moon controlls the tides of the ocean => push and pull on the earth => a push and pull on the magnetic forces making us "wobble". given that the earths crust rests on a large "ocean of lava which is constantly releasing masive amounts of basalt into our oceans it must create an imbalance of "magna"tivity which because of hte lunar pull of the ocean can create different pressures on the tectonic plates causing earthquakes. So how does the Super moon or any moon not have anything to do with the earthquake.

[DR]

OK we'll think outside the box and inside the sphere.

1. The magma is farther from the moon than the oceans are and therefore there will be less gravitational pull on it.

2.Magma is far more viscous than sea water therefore there will be far less displacement than that of h2o.

3.Magma is much heavier than water and therefore is harder to lift than the ocean.

4.Most importantly March 19Th has come and gone with no unusual earthquake or volcanic activity.

5. There has been no correlation between tidal forces, and earthquakes observed on Earth.

6.There are certainly tidal forces in play with magma, but it is insignificant as a causal factor in earthquakes.

[DR]

Okay so I can tottaly agree with the plate techtonics causing the earthquake. However lets think outside the box... the moon controlls the tides of the ocean => push and pull on the earth => a push and pull on the magnetic forces making us "wobble". given that the earths crust rests on a large "ocean of lava which is constantly releasing masive amounts of basalt into our oceans it must create an imbalance of "magna"tivity which because of hte lunar pull of the ocean can create different pressures on the tectonic plates causing earthquakes. So how does the Super moon or any moon not have anything to do with the earthquake.

Gravity has zero effect on the magnetic field. The wobble or precession is not caused by gravity, the only effect of the moon's gravity on the precession is that it reduces the amount of wobble making the Earth's rotation more stable. The tectonic effects that cause the creation of new basaltic rock is caused by the convection currents of the magma circulating from the core to the mantle.

[catrynmay]

You rock!

Thank you for setting me straight. I love this stuff but have little education on it so I am always looking for answers, and getting set straight about my theories.

[DR]

Ain't we all. lol

[TOvA~]

So how does the Moon effect tides exactly, or the menses?

[DR]

Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun and the rotation of the Earth.

I don't know if menses is effected. There is no scientific evidence that that tidal forces work on the human body in any significant way. Many believe that the full moon has an effect on people. I for one believe it because of repeated observation of it when I worked in the E.R. It seemed that every full moon was a busy night in the E.R. However, there is no quantitative measurement of this belief scientifically.

[TOvA~]

I smell a GRANT growing! lol
It would make for an interesting study I think!

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