The real ‘Supermoon’ story

by Sail-world.com on 12 Jul 2014 World-wide media is trumpeting the first 'supermoon' sighting of the year on Saturday, the phenomenon is actually not as rare as one might think, NASA Science News reported.

'Supermoons' — or perigee moons, as they’re known in the scientific community — occur when the Moon is at its closest orbital point to Earth, making it appear 30 percent brighter and around 14 percent bigger than the typical full moon.
Three of this year’s five expected 'supermoons' are expected to occur in consecutive months: July, August and September.

But U.S. Naval Observatory spokesperson Geoff Chester said that, contrary to popular belief, perigee moons and full moons coincide every 13 months and 18 days. Last year, he told NASA, there were actually three 'supermoons,' but only one received widespread attention. 'I guarantee that some folks will think it’s the biggest Moon they’ve ever seen if they catch it rising over a distant horizon,' Chester was quoted as saying. 'Because the media will have told them to pay attention to this particular one.

The videos below provide the facts we all need to know.