The bigger, the better?

Maybe it lies within the plan of creation that we are so susceptible to everything that is bigger than what we already know or have already experienced. However, the following merely relates to heavenly bodies …

As we recently wrote in our article  »Sun and moon the same size?« here in our full moon blog, the moon changes its distance to earth due to its unusual orbit and subsequently appears to be of a different size for the observer here on earth, depending on how close it is to earth at the time. Is the moon (or another heavenly body) as close to earth as possible, one speaks of perigee, and if it is the furthest away, it is called apogee. You can confidently forget these terms again, however, you may want to memorise that the moon can appear to us in different sizes.

Next Saturday, shortly after full moon, the moon has reached the perigee again after 18 years and will appear to be bigger than usual:

Full moon: Saturday, 19th March 2011, 07:10:06 pm (CET)
Perigee: Saturday, 19th March 2011, 08:14:54 pm (CET)

However, the visible difference is not quite as substantial as you may read it in some tabloid newspapers. So don’t worry, you won’t need sun glasses for all that moon light. The difference in size and brightness will only be a few percent.

A few more words about the effect of the »supermoon« on earth. It is often said that near the time of perigee there would also be an increase in natural disasters. This is then reasoned with the greater forces that influence earth and in particular the water masses of the oceans. We have done some research in this area and most experts have come to the conclusion that these forces are not sufficient to cause any immense changes in the balance of earth. Especially the movement of the continental plates that can be responsible for earth quakes, is rather caused by the enormous forces in the interior of the earth than by the tides.

Even though, the latest tragic events in Japan happened in sequence around the oncoming perigee with approx. 8 days difference and the allegation of a causal connection might be tempting, one has to be very careful. A lot of untrue stories have been spread in the past with theories of disasters and Armageddon.

Let us rather take advantage of this beautiful big full moon for sending our compassionate and heartfelt thoughts to our Japanese brothers and sisters.

8 Comments

  1. David | 31 March 2011

    According to recent research, the distance from the Earth to the Moon is increasing more quickly than we thought. The full article and explanation of the research is available from http://davechessgames.blogspot.com/

  2. Mav | 22 March 2011

    Over the past few days I experienced really bad headaches and over the weekend 19th/20th March 2011 I felt really poorly, weak, dizzy and a little depressed. I put it down to my tiredness.

    Monday (today) I found out about the ‘SUPERMOON’ on the 19th, I didn’t even know about it. Now I wonder if my headache was barometric due to atmospheric pressure or something more ……. mystical?

    Did anyone else experience headaches over the weekend? Just adding, I’m ok now but still have a mild headache.

  3. Lightdancer | 19 March 2011

    Stunning post … and yes, let us remember the healing power … and walk away from destructive thoughts … yes, connect with the beauty and power of the moon-energy …
    sending healing and peaceful energy toward the people of Japan …

  4. Tahala Von Eissen | 19 March 2011

    Just wanted to let you know the link “This is the way to our online shop: WERNER & WERNER” isn’t working. Lovely postcard!

  5. Lydia | 18 March 2011

    Thank you for keeping sanity and reason at this very trying time for the people of Japan … It is so easy to fall into that downward spiral of fear and unreason. I’m so tired of natural occurances being blamed for mankinds mismanagement of mother earths natural resources and relations with their fellow inhabitants of our planet … thank you for your reminders …

  6. Mary L. Duncan Bradshaw | 18 March 2011

    The white-yellow Full Moon filled the dark sky from zenith to horizon over the Atlantic, igniting the romantic in me as I reached up to kiss my lover on the balcony at Long Beach.

  7. richard yarid | 16 March 2011

    Amen to the comment as ignorance leading to suspicion tends to plague the masses.

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