Community Corner

Keep Eyes to the Sky for the Super Moon

We will experience the biggest perigee moon in about 20 years.

Keep your eyes to the sky and watch out for the moon as we experience a super "perigee moon," the largest in about 20 years, according to an article in NASA Science News.

Full moons vary in size because of the moon’s oval shape, according to the article. The moon is an ellipse with one side [perigee] about 50,000 km closer to Earth than the other [apogee]. And, perigee moons are about 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter.

Perigee moons are also known to cause higher tides, but it’s nothing to worry about, especially here where we are far inland. And, despite talk on the Internet, there is no risk of any natural disasters because of the moon, NASA said.

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If you want to try and see the moon at its best, take a look outside when the Moon is near the horizon. That is when illusion mixes with reality to produce an incredible view, according to NASA. It will appear close enough to touch.

Whether we will get a full view of the moon tonight will depend on the weather. The National Weather Service is forecasting a mostly cloudy evening, with a 20 percent chance of rain after midnight.

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And, to celebrate the Super Moon, why not enjoy a poem.

Full Moon by Du Fu

Above the tower — a lone, twice-sized moon.
On the cold river passing night-filled homes,
It scatters restless gold across the waves.
On mats, it shines richer than silken gauze.

Empty peaks, silence: among sparse stars,
Not yet flawed, it drifts. Pine and cinnamon
Spreading in my old garden . . . All light,
All ten thousand miles at once in its light!

Du Fu was a poet during the Tang Dynasty 712-770 A.D.


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