Supermoon To Peak On Sunday As NASA Offers Reassurance

In case you missed the supermoon of 2011 and 2012, this weekend you'll have the chance to see the moon at its closet point to the Earth, which will peak on Sunday. Such a phenomenon makes the moon appear huge, and will be the largest of 2013. The supermoon has long been a source of legend that it drives people crazy, but NASA has advised stargazers that there's nothing to fear.

The reassurance was given by NASA's Noah Petro, a planetary geologist, who said: "There should be no impact on anybody on the Earth. There should be nothing unusual except maybe for more people staring up at the moon, which should be a wonderful thing." He went on to say that the noticeable effect could be higher tides, but warns that casual observation probably won't be enough to notice that change, either.

The advisement was prompted by reports that span many years where individuals say they have experienced negative effects from the supermoon, some saying it makes them crazy, others saying it affects them in other ways, with the moral of everyone's story being that the closer-than-normal planet is to be experienced with caution.

And so with nothing to fear, those in areas where the clouds cooperate will be able to see the moon in all its huge glory starting tomorrow and lasting through Sunday night. The moon will appear nearly full for most individuals located in the US starting tomorrow, but will be completely round as the weekend nears its end, according to Earth Sky.

The next time this moon will be so close to Earth is August 2014, making it one of the most notable lunar events of this year. While this phenomenon is most commonly called a supermoon, it is officially known as a perigee full moon, and presents an excellent opportunity to snap some wonderful photographs.

SOURCE: Space.com