The Soul Calendar: Astronomy: Sky Watch Biggest 2012 Super Moon Saturday: From Denny: Look up in the night sky this weekend for the most awesome extra-large and extra-bright moon viewing for the entire year of 2012. The spectacular Super Moon will be showing off its size and brightness on 5 May 2012 at 11:35PM EDT. It will swing in closer at 221,802 miles (356,955 kilometers) from Earth.
Why will the moon appear to be so large and bright? Turns out this month's full moon also coincides with the time when the moon is closest in its approach to Earth, called the moon's perigee.
Another factor for this Super Moon show is because the perigee in this month will be the closest to Earth of any for this year, varying only by three percent. How is that so? According to meteorologist Joe Rao, Space.com's skywatching columnist, "it happens because the moon's orbit is not perfectly circular."
How much brighter will the Super Moon be this month? Try an extra 16 percent brighter than average. Now that makes for great skywatching, even with the naked peepers (eyes).
