“Super Moon” exceptional. Brightest moon in the sky of Normandy, Monday, November 14

Monday, November 14, 2016, the moon will be 356,511 kilometers from Earth. An optical illusion will make it seem larger and brighter in the sky. Explanations.

Extraordinary observation or hype? The Super Moon of Monday, November 14, 2016 is announced as an extraordinary event. That day, as every month, the moon will be full, but as she is particularly close to Earth, it may seem more imposing and brighter than usual. While that date is presented as exceptional specialists relativize the importance of the phenomenon noting that according to light pollution and cloud cover, this super moon might not seem different from a conventional full moon. Explanations.

Moon close to Earth
The media seems to rejoice in this event, which should offer a sumptuous spectacle for French who like to have eyes in the stars, and head in the clouds. If the full moon of Monday, November 14, 2016, dubbed “Super Moon” will be special, it is because it is closest to Earth, only 356 511 kilometers from us, precisely at 8:52. “The last time the perigee (minimum distance to the Earth, Ed) was also low (356,462 km), it was January 26, 1948. And for the next perigee too low, it will take 25 November 2034 ( Earth-Moon distance will be 356 447 km), “says Sciences et Avenir . Yet it may well be that no one notices the difference between this super moon ( “Super Moon” in English and “perigee-syzygy” among astronomers), which occurs 4-6 times per year, and a full classic Moon if the show can be sumptuous (the moon will be bigger, brighter), it could be ruined by the weather:

Note, however, that the show be offered by the moon is less dependent on its distance from Earth as the weather conditions observation evening. If the sky is cloudy or if you are in an area where light pollution is too large, you will notice not in doubt not much difference with a full moon “classical” says Sciences et Avenir .
Moon November 14, 2016 will be almost perfectly aligned with the Sun and Earth, and enlightened face of our star. But this Super Moon is it so good? Experts moderate the general enthusiasm. This cosmic happening could disappoint many.

The Super Moon of the century. True or false?
Viral information panics net, with more than five million entries on the search engines. Why this sudden panic for a full Moon Science and Life is amused by this media frenzy and restores the truth:

All amateur astronomers, all those who contemplate the sky at night, know that the nights of full moon are very clear, the stars disappear in the blue sky, the landscape photographs seem taken in daylight, and the Moon itself, indeed, is almost blinding. View the telescope, it may even be embarrassing to watch, even painful, in a very large telescope … But that’s true every month, every full moon. That of 14 will be a little larger, a little brighter, but the effect, to the naked eye, will be practically insensible person, on the amateur astronomy sites, is not interested in this “super Moon “…
The evening of the 14th, when it will rise on the horizon, the moon will appear “huge” and bright. “It will be, as every month, an optical illusion, a trick of the brain. In the sky, in the absence of benchmarks, the Moon appears small on the horizon, compared to distant buildings, mountains, forests, it appears huge, “says the article in Science et Vie , entitled The Great Moon November 14, between reality and delusions . Tip: watch the sky and the stars regularly, and do not expect a super Moon for sunning yourself at the spectacle of nature.