Supermoon - March 19th 2011

I would say that the moon is super anytime, but on March 19th, 2011 it is officially a Supermoon.

What is a Supermoon?
It is simply a full moon when the moon is at its closest approach to the Earth.
The moon should appear about 15% larger and up to 30% brighter than usual. It will not, as some people believe, cause catastrophic natural disasters on the Earth.

Here are some facts about the moon.

It's orbit is eliptical meaning that the distance from the Earth varies from approximately 363,300km and 405,500km.

It takes the moon 27.3 days to orbit the Earth (sidereal period), but 29.5 days to appear in the same phase due to the Earth moving allong its own orbital path (synodic period).

It is the second brightest object in the sky next to the sun.

The moon's gravity is responsible for tides on Earth.

Only one side of the moon faces the Earth at all times. That is why it always looks the same.

There is really no dark side of the moon. We call it that just because we can't see it, but it does get light from the sun as much as the side that faces us.

One day on the moon is 27.3 Earth days.

The moon is really cool to look at. My opinion and a fact.