‘Supermoon’ May Outshine Meteor Shower This Weekend

Published on May 4, 2012 by admin   ·   No Comments

Photographer Sandy Adams snapped this great view of the “supermoon” full moon of March 19, 2011 over Washington, D.C. CREDIT: Sandy Adams

The biggest full moon of the year, a so-called “supermoon,” will take center stage when it rises this weekend, and may interfere with the peak of an annual meteor shower created by the leftovers from Halley’s comet.

The supermoon of 2012 is the biggest full moon of the yearand will occur on Saturday (May 5) at 11:35 p.m. EDT (0335 May 6), though the moon may still appear full to skywatchers on the day before and after the actual event. At the same time, the annual Eta Aquarid meteor shower will be hitting its peak, NASA scientists say.

“Its light will wash out the fainter Eta Aquarid meteors,” NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke of the Marshall Space Flight Center told SPACE.com in an email. Still, Cooke said there’s a chance that the brightest fireballs from the meteor display may still be visible.

A supermoon occurs when the moon hits its full phase at the same time it makes closest approach to Earth for the month, a lunar milestone known as perigee. Scientists also refer to the event as a “perigee moon,” according to a NASA video on the 2012 supermoon.

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