Before I explain why this occurs, let me first dispel the false information that will undoubtedly be passed around in the form of email or Facebook Spam. The Moon will not cover half of the sky. The Moon will not cause gravitational oscillations that will knock out the power grid or air traffic control stations. The Moon will not cause massive tidal waves. The Moon will not become blood red and unleash its fury on the Earth.
On September 27th though, the Moon actually will become blood red as it completes a Full Moon cycle that coincides with the largest of the three Supermoons while simultaneously having a lunar eclipse. And during lunar eclipses the Moon does take on a blood red appearance at full eclipse - that much is true.
The reason for the enlarged appearance is due to the common property of celestial bodies in that they all have elliptical orbits, and so throughout its orbit the Moon is constantly getting either nearer or further away. Because the orbital cycle length (27.3 days) is not in exact alignment with the lunar cycle length (29.5 days), there are variations in the distance of the moon from the earth at each of its different phases. It just so happens that this year, there will be three cycles in a row that are termed Supermoons, which is just the name given Full Moons that occur relatively close to the Moons nearest approach to the earth, or perigee.
While the Moon will not cause any of the aforementioned disasters, one must always be on the lookout for people during Full Moons. Though there has been no concrete scientific explanation for the affect of the Full Moon on humans, observationally people do seem to exhibit eccentric and erratic behaviors during a Full Moon. So maybe September 27th would be a good day to just stay in for the evening and enjoy the Lunar trifecta (Supermoon, Full Moon, Lunar Eclipse) from the safety of one's backyard.
No comments:
Post a Comment