Super moon 2012: ‘Gloriously full,’ with 14% more lunar excitement

According to NASA’s calculations, 11:34 p.m. EDT Saturday is the moment when the moon will hit your eye like a big pizza pie, to paraphrase Dean Martin. It’s “super moon� time.

NASA is letting its enthusiasm show in a new video on the subject. “The timing is almost perfect,� it notes. At 11:34 (that’s 8:34 p.m. Pacific), May’s full moon will reach perigee -- the closest point to Earth in its elliptical pattern -- and “only one minute later, the moon will line up with the Earth and the sun to become gloriously full.�

For a bunch of scientists, that’s pretty poetic talk.

The moon will appear 14% larger than other full moons of 2012. “The swollen orb rising in the East at sunset will seem super indeed.�

This doesn’t sound like a super moon -- it sounds like a super duper moon.

Anthony Cook, astronomical observer at L.A.’s Griffith Observatory, is a little more measured in his view of the upcoming phenomenon.

It will be 30% brighter, yes, but that’s 30% brighter than the moon is when it is at “apogee� -- the farthest point in its elliptical orbit around the Earth -- he said.

“I’m a little skeptical that most people would casually see that this full moon looks huge compared to the one that rises six months from now,� he said. “You’re talking about a fairly small size difference in something that’s already small.�

But, not one to spoil the fun, Cook said that careful, observant moon watchers could recognize the super-ness. The best time to do this is when the moon is close to the horizon. The “horizon illusion� makes the moon appear bigger, Cook said, “because you’re comparing it to more familiar things.�

So Saturday night, try to catch a glimpse of the super moon when it’s most likely to appear maxed out -- just as it’s rising. This full moon should leave you at least 14% more impressed.

ALSO:

Meteorite hunters strike pay dirt

Giant black hole is seen gobbling a star

‘History of Space’ photography: Beyond cool

Join Amy Hubbard on Google+

[email protected]