Supermoon - Shelley Beatty

SUPERMOON November 14, 2016

Super Moon November 14, 2016

A supermoon is the coincidence of a full moon or a new moon with the closest approach the Moon makes to the Earth on its elliptical orbit, resulting in the largest apparent size of the lunar disk as seen from Earth.^[3] The technical name is the perigee-syzygy of the Earth–Moon–Sun system.^[a] The term supermoon is not astronomical, but originated in modern astrology.^[4] The association of the Moon with both oceanic and crustal tides has led to claims that the supermoon phenomenon may be associated with increased risk of events such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, but there is no evidence of such a link.^[5]

A couple simple shots from my iPhone

Super Moon November 14, 2016

And a couple of my favorites from around the world

Super Moon November 14, 2016

As I was growing up I had a brother, Mike, that was fascinated by space and the space program. We watched every space flight; from the very first Mercury (May 5, 1961)

The Mercury-Redstone space vehicle lifts off with astronaut Alan Shepard from Cape Canaveral on May 5, 1961. Shepard was the first American to go into space, about three weeks after Russian Yuri Gagarin.

to John Glenn’s first orbit (Feb 20th, 1962),

Launch of Friendship 7

to Neil Armstrong’s landing on the moon (Apollo 11),

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, lunar module pilot of the first lunar landing mission, poses for a photograph beside the deployed United States flag during an Apollo 11 Extravehicular Activity (EVA) on the lunar surface.

Saturn V carrying Apollo 11 rises past the launch tower camera

Moon landing,

First Moon Landing 1969_640x480

and every flight that was available to watch on TV. My brother died July 4th, 1970. To this day I never look at anything that has to do with space or the great beyond without remembering him.

So the other night when I heard there was a super moon I had to stay up and wait for the moon to rise to see a super moon. A supermoon is the coincidence of a full moon or a new moon with the closest approach the Moon makes to the Earth on its elliptical orbit, resulting in the largest apparent size of the lunar disk as seen from Earth. I tried to take a picture, but it did not really turn out very well

Super Moon over Fairway Kansas

but I found some beautiful shots on the internet to share (from NBC news):

Supermoon rising over Judean Hills, Israel

Supermoon Eve! Lighting the Space Needle!

Supermoon on Tioga Pass in Yosemite Park

Moonrise 22 June 2013, one night prior to Super moon. French Alps.

and one more:

SuperMoon downtown Manhattan

I gazed at the super moon and thought of my brother…

SUPER Moon November 14, 2016

SUPERMOON November 14, 2016

Supermoon and remembering Mike