Get ready to see the Moon big and bright of the last 68 years – The Daily NY

Within a few days the Moon is closer to us than usual. In fact, it has not been proven to be so daring in decades.

On the eve of the 14th of November, from the Earth to be able to observe the superluna largest in nearly 70 years.

According to NASA, "will be full in approximately two hours of perigee", as it is called at the point of the orbit closest to the center of our planet.

But, what is the phenomenon? The superlunas are a result of the accident, according to the british astronomer Heather Couper told the BBC.

"The Moon revolves around an elliptical orbit, so it can come very close to us and, if this coincides with the full Moon, then it can seem absolutely huge", he explains.

This match will take place on November 14 and will be extraordinary because of its distance.

When the Moon reaches its position farthest from the Earth is said to be in its heyday. At its opposite point, the perigee, can be up to 50,000 kilometers closer to Earth than at apogee.

The natural satellite is not close to the Earth since 1948… and don’t plan to do it again until 2034.

On this occasion, the Moon will 48.280 km closer to the Earth that when he was recently at its apogee, the farthest point of the orbit.

with the exception of the eclipse of superluna of 2015, there has not been, nor will there be a full Moon so special in a long time (even when they curiously three superlunas in a row in thes last three months of the year-the previous one occurred on the 16th of October and the last will be on the 14th of December).

The superluna adds to the long list of shows that has given us the satellite of the Earth. The red Moon or blood Moon, the blue Moon, the black Moon and the strawberry, are other examples.

What is the best way to see a superluna?

first, of course, is to go to a place that is open and peaceful, away from the big cities and the artificial lighting is very powerful.

like any full moon, the celestial body looks bigger and extremely bright if you look when it appears on the horizon.

Although the superlunas look 14% larger and 30% more luminous than the full moon in common, they are even more amazing when they are in the line of the horizon and not high in the sky.

The expert of the Naval Observatory of the united States (USNO, for its acronym in English) Geoff Chester explains that this is the result of an optical illusion, as cited by the NASA. It is an optical effect that they do not understand at all or astronomers or psychologists.

looks even bigger on the horizon line, say the astronomers.

Couper adds that the superlunas seem even larger if you look through the trees or the houses.
Some experts suggest another method the less curious to dispel the illusion: a person can give back to the Moon, bend over and look at the sky between the legs.

Surprises to discover

In the area of the Moon that will be visible in the next 14 of November, there are plenty of craters generated by the impact of meteorites and volcanic activity of thousands of millions of years.

The contrasts between the areas which reflect the light of the Sun (the mountains), and the esplanades that remain in the shadow (seas) can be converted, using a little imagination, in the most amazing figures.

Now that we will see more big and bright, we will have an excellent opportunity to discover the figures hidden in the geography of the moon.

WIKIPEDIA / D. HELBER

One of the silhouettes most recognizable is that of a rabbit with long ears.

So fascinating is the image that the maya created a legend to explain what was then a mystery.

The legend involving the god Quetzalcoatl who, before the act of generosity of a rabbit who offered to feed him in a moment of extreme need, he decided to raise it to the Moon in gratitude.

In this way, the image of the rabbit would be seen by all and for all eternity.

The observers more acute – Cleopatra and Abraham Lincoln among them – said they had seen a human face in the surface of the Moon. Surely it was the same that inspired the famous sequence of the film Le Voyage dans la Lune (Trip to the Moon), the pioneering French filmmaker George Meliés.

ever Since, the Moon has fascinated civilizations and the arts. Here, a scene from "Trip to the Moon" (1902), George Meliés. Public domain

Even, there are those who manages to see Elvis Presley, a pair of hands, a tree, women, toads, jesus Christ, and until a man carrying firewood.

however, to distinguish the famous hare is enough fun for most.

Against the myths and false beliefs

During a superluna do not expect the end of the world, of course, either an increase of the crime rates.

Among the many myths that are repeated, it is often said that these phenomena have any effect on criminals and that in full moon nights are bad habits.

A superluna occurs when the satellite is in the position closest to the Earth in the point of orbit is known as perigee. The phenomenon is not so rare, but this November it is.

But the scientists have dismissed the idea that the perigee can cause strange behaviour, like lycanthropy – hallucination that makes one believe that one is or can become an animal- or natural disasters of any type.

According to Scott O. Lilienfeld, a psychologist at Emory University, in the united States: no matter how close or far away pass, the Moon will not incite crimes, as suggested by popular belief.

Studies that have tried to document such connections have found "a large amount of nothing," as he says Lilienfeld, author of the book "50 great myths of popular psychology".

The academic concludes that a key reason could be the way that people connect ideas with others: "When there is a full moon and go on to commit crimes, make the relationship. But when nothing happens and there is a full moon, do not make the relationship."