Super moon weekend: May 2012

The weekend of May 5-6, 2012, revealed a picture perfect view of the “super moon”. A super moon occurs about every 14 months when the moon is both full and appears closest to Earth during its orbit (Canberra Times, May 5, 2012).

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) agency of the United States maintained that the moon appeared 14% larger and 30% brighter than usual to the naked eye (www.nasa.gov). Often the orbit is close to Earth, but the moon is not full or clouds obscure a clear view.

NASA says that although the super moon is closer to Earth at this time, in terms of Earth-Moon distance tracked by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, there is little difference. The moon, normally about 251,000 miles from Earth, was 221,567 miles away this weekend. In early Earth history, the moon was only 15,000 miles away.

NASA scientists say the effects on Earth are minor according to seismologists (scientists who measure earthquakes) and volcanologists (scientists who observe volcanoes). It may affect ocean tides in a minor way, but not enough to fundamentally overcome the larger forces within Earth itself due to convection. Convection is the collective movement of ensembles of molecules within fluids, such as the ocean. Convection can be qualified in terms of being natural, forced, gravitational, granular, or thermomagnetic. Due to its role in heat transfer, natural convection plays a role in the structure of Earth’s atmosphere, its oceans, and its surface layer (mantle). Fluid movement during convection may be invisibly slow, or it may be obvious and rapid, as in a hurricane.

Some people, including astrologers, may predict storms, earthquakes, volcanoes and other natural disasters over the next few days and weeks. This is because last year, a super moon occurred on March 19, and some say it caused the earthquake a week earlier on March 11, resulting in Japan’s tsunami. However, scientists say that earthquakes, storms, and other incidents happen regardless of the moon's position, and in some cases multiple factors influence earthquakes and storms. Psychologists say this phenomenon could create internal chaos for some individuals, but from an astronomy perspective, there is little evidence that there will be drastic effects as a result of the super moon this year.

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