'Supermoon' Dazzles: Biggest Full Moon in 18 Years Amazes Skywatchers

The largest full moon in more than 18 years – a so-called "supermoon" – did not disappoint eager skywatchers around the world Saturday when it rose, big and bright, into Earth's night sky.

http://news.yahoo.com/video/science-15749654/supermoon-rises-24583592

The full moon of March was 221,565 miles (356,575 kilometers) on Saturday, March 19 just 50 minutes after it hit its full phase, making it the biggest and brightest full moon since 1993. The "supermoon" phenomenon occurred because the moon was in its full phase and just 50 minutes past perigee – the point of its orbit that brings it closer to Earth. [Supermoon Photos From Around the World]

This year's biggest full moon also gained notoriety after erroneous claims that it would spark waves of natural disasters around the world.  

NASA scientists and others dismissed the fringe lunar disaster claims as nonsense, but did admit the moon should look spectacular. Saturday's full moon appeared 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than the smallest full moons Earth sees, though the difference wasn't immediately apparent to some skywatchers.

And for moon lovers graced with clear skies, that's exactly what happened according to overwhelming number of email reports received by SPACE.com from around the world.

In New York City, avid skywatcher Tony Hoffman watched the moon rise from a bedroom window and caught a lucky shot when an airplane passed by. [See Tony Hoffman's photo]

"It was beautiful as it rose, though it didn’t look particularly large to me, then again, I wasn’t expecting it to,"  I was fortunate enough to catch a jetliner’s passage in front of it," Hoffman told SPACE.com. "I don’t usually photograph the Moon when it’s so low, but tonight it paid off."

Just outside New York City, in northern New Jersey, the bright moon offered a serene view for me and my family. We caught an amazing view of it low on the horizon, and then stopped at a hilltop vista to see the full moon with the lights and skyscrapers of Manhattan and Newark in the distance.

Big moon rising

Skywatcher Ian Griffin watched the moon as it rose over his village of Brill in the United Kingdom and soaked in the amazing view. In his photos, a huge moon hangs low in the horizon awash in dusky colors. [See Ian Griffin's moon photo]

Griffin wasn't the only one to send SPACE.com an account of a huge rising moon.

In Grand Rapids, Mich., skywatcher Susan Wagener watched as the moon climbed up from behind the horizon, catching a stunning view of the so-called "moon illusion" in which the moon appears to be much larger near the horizon than it does overhead.

"We watched the moon rise last night from our condo on the 23rd floor of Plaza Towers in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan with our 4 1/2-year-old granddaughter, Matilyn Sizemore," Wagener told SPACE.com. "We talked about the moon and how it's different sizes during different times of the month and year.  Matilyn's favorite moon is the half-moon she told us."

 In one of Wagener's photos, the bright curve of the moon peeks out from behind the horizon, its edge distorted by atmospheric interference. Another image shows the moon hanging low over Grand Rapids. [See Susan Wagener's moon photo]

"For reasons not fully understood by astronomers or psychologists, a low-hanging moon looks incredibly large when hovering near trees, buildings and other foreground objects," SPACE.com skywatching columnist Joe Rao explained in a recent column.  "The fact that the moon will be much closer than usual this weekend will only serve to amplify this strange effect."

Skywatcher Sandy Adams caught similar views of the rising moon over the U.S. capitol of Washington, D.C. [See Sandy Adams' supermoon photo]

Omar Mendoza, of Hermosillo, Sonora in Mexico, snapped his version of the view to show a reddish-hue moon rising behind hills in the distance.

"So beautiful, my moon," Mendoza told SPACE.com.

The next comparable full moon to offer a view like Saturday's "supermoon" won't occur until Nov. 14, 2016, according to Rao. [Infographic: 'Supermoon' Full Moons Explained]

Supermoon around the world

While SPACE.com received a flood of supermoon accounts, the theme was the same: an amazingly bright moon. While some skywatchers did not immediately notice the moon's larger size on Saturday night, they were all dazzled by its brightness.

"That was sure a beautiful moon," said Abbe Arenson of Sanford, Fla. "The moon while bright and beautifully big, still did not seem larger upon rising (about 8 p.m.) than that night of January 19th when it rose. But as I just went outside, it is very definitely closer to the Earth - usually the moon by this time, 12:45 a.m., is very small up there."

In Tasmania, Australia, observers Marlene and Tim B were worried that cloud cover would obscure their view of the moon. Those fears, it turned out, were unfounded. Marlene's photo shows a moon so bright it overwhelmed the frame.

"What struck my husband and I was that it was difficult to look at. That is how bright it appeared.  The glow that emanated from the moon surpassed any full moon that we have observed in a very long time," Marlene told SPACE.com in an email. "It appeared slightly larger; I suppose that was due to the close proximity of the Earth … it was absolutely entrancing.  Who would have believed that you could take a picture at night, without using a flash, and get a picture of the moon like that!!!!!"

Another bright view of the moon came from Gina Farthing in Crimora, Va., who snapped photos of the bright moon through some trees that appeared to glow with the lunar backlighting.

"We live in the Blue Ridge mountains, so didn't get to see it at the horizon," Farthing said. "But it did appear slightly larger coming over the mountain."

In Ekaterinburg Russia, photographer Dmitry Benbau took the opportunity to snap a close-up of the moon full disk. The bright and full moon, he said, was "very exciting."

In Shallotte, North Carolina, photographer Tavi Greiner made the supermoon of March a family affair. Greiner's amazing photos show the moon low over the Shallotte River.

"I took my entire family down to the river tonight, to experience tonight's 'Super Moon,' and was pleasantly surprised to see many of the locals out for a look, as well," Greiner told SPACE.com "It was really nice to see so many people  looking up!"

Editor's Note: SPACE.com received an overwhelming number of first-hand accounts and photos from readers who made stunning observations of the moon. While it is impossible to recount all of those experiences, you can see many of the photos in our Supermoon 2011 Photo Gallery, with more being added all the time.

You can follow SPACE.com Managing Editor Tariq Malik on Twitter @tariqjmalik. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

• 'Supermoon' Photos from Around the World: March 19, 2011
• Video: 'Supermoon' Science: Inside Scoop on the Biggest Full Moons
• 'Supermoon' Lunacy: Does the Moon Make Us Crazy?

Warm Regard, Sara Pandian

Interesting Facts

Warm Regard, Sara Pandian

A Tale of Two Seas

Sitting in the Geography class in school, I remember how fascinated I was when we were being taught all about the Dead Sea. As you probably recall, the Dead Sea is really a Lake, not a sea (and as my Geography teacher pointed out, if you understood that, it would guarantee 4 marks in the term paper!) Its so high in salt content that the human body can float easily. You can almost lie down and read a book! The salt in the Dead Sea is as high as 35% - almost 10 times the normal ocean water. And all that saltiness has meant that there is no life at all in the Dead Sea. No fish. No vegetation. No sea animals. Nothing lives in the Dead sea.  

And hence the name: Dead Sea.

While the Dead Sea has remained etched in my memory, I don't seem to recall learning about the Sea of Galilee in my school Geography lesson.  So when I heard about the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea and the tale of the two seas - I was intrigued. Turns out that the Sea of Galilee is just north of the Dead Sea. Both the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea receive their water from river Jordan. And yet, they are very, very different.

Unlike the Dead Sea, the Sea of Galilee is pretty, resplendent with rich, colorful marine life. There are lots of plants. And lots of fish too. In fact, the sea of Galilee is home to over twenty different types of fishes. Same region, same source of water, and yet while one sea is full of life, the other is dead. How come?

Here apparently is why. 

The River Jordan flows into the Sea of Galilee and then flows out. The water simply passes through the Sea of Galilee in and then out - and that keeps the Sea healthy and vibrant, teeming with marine life.

But the Dead Sea is so far below the mean sea level, that it has no outlet. The water flows in from the river Jordan, but does not flow out.  There are no outlet streams. It is estimated that over a million tons of water evaporate from the Dead Sea every day. Leaving it salty. Too full of minerals. And unfit for any marine life.

The Dead Sea takes water from the River Jordan, and holds it. It does not give. Result? No life at all.

Think about it.

Life is not just about getting. Its about giving. We all need to be a bit like the Sea of Galilee. We are fortunate to get wealth, knowledge, love and respect. But if we don't learn to give, we could all end up like the Dead Sea. The love and the respect, the wealth and the knowledge could all evaporate. Like the water in the Dead Sea.

If we get the Dead Sea mentality of merely taking in more water, more money, more everything the results can be disastrous. Good idea to make sure that in the sea of your own life, you have outlets. Many outlets.

For love and wealth - and everything else that you get in your life. Make sure you don't just get, you give too. Open the taps. And you'll open the floodgates to happiness. 

Make that a habit. To share. To give.

And experience life. Experience the magic! 

Warm Regard, Sara Pandian

Scholarship for 2011..

Prysmian ASEAN Scholarship

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Refer - http://www.prysmian.com.sg/people/student_area/PryAS_Scholarship.html 

Deadline - 31 March 2011 

 National Science Scholarships 

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Refer - http://tinyurl.com/4bug2dw 

Deadline - 31 March 2011 

 Tun Suffian Foundation Scholarships 

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Refer - http://www.tunsuffianfoundation.org/scholarship.html 

 Tun Dr. Mahathir UPM-ELS Scholarship 

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 Refer - http://www.els.edu.my/en/els-scholarships/tun-dr-mahathir-upm-els-scholarship/ 

 Sunrise Education Foundation

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Refer - http://www.sunrisebhd.com/education/ScholarshipAwards/tabid/59/language/en-US/Default.aspx 

 GENM Scholarship 

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 Refer - http://www.rwgenting.com/GENMscholarship/index.htm 

Deadline - 10 April 2011 

 Fullbright Malaysian Award 2012

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Refer - http://www.macee.org.my/02_08_22_content.html 

Deadline - 03 June 2011 

 Malaysian Airport Scholarship 

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Refer - http://www.malaysiaairports.com.my/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=412

Deadline - 31 March 2011 

 Gamuda Scholarship 

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Refer - http://www.gamuda.com.my/GAMUDA05/community_scholarships11.htm 

Deadline - 30 April 2011 

 Sultan Iskandar Foundation 

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Refer - http://www.ysij.org.my/biasiswa.html

Deadline - 21 April 2011 

 ACCA - The Simpson Scholarship 

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Refer - http://www.accaglobal.com/scholarship/ 

Deadline - 30 April 2011

 Hong Leong Foundation Scholarship

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Refer - http://hongleongfoundation.org/scholarship/index.htm 

Deadline - 16 April 2011

Warm Regard, Sara Pandian

Ministry to discuss tour cancellation with agents

KUALA LUMPUR: The Tourism Ministry will meet with tour and travel operators to discuss cancellations of tour packages to Japan and the refund of deposits paid by customers following the earthquake and tsunami there.

Its minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said the ministry’s secretary-general Datuk Dr Ong Hong Peng had been directed to convene a meeting with the Malaysian Assoc-iation of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) and outbound tour operators soon.

She said the ministry had received a number of complaints from the public about losing their deposit.

“Deposits will be forfeited following a withdrawal, that is the usual practice, but now, it is not that they don’t want to go, it is simply not the right time.

“It is all about fairness and we hope to reach an amicable decision,” she said after launching the Malaysia GP Sale yesterday.

Dr Ng also said the ministry expected a 30% drop in Japanese visitors over the next few months.

About 500,000 Japanese visited Malaysia last year, bringing in RM1.5bil in revenue.

Dr Ng added that the ministry’s 24-hour crisis management centre had been activated following the dis-aster in Japan to collect information and address issues to ensure the effect on the tourism industry was minimal.

On local tourists in Japan, Dr Ng said there were no reports of injury or fatality. Dr Ng added that this would be a very challenging year for the tourism sector in view of the disaster in Japan and the political crisis in the Middle East.

Warm Regard, Sara Pandian

80% of home owners have secured original land titles

The  four-month struggle of Taman Kepong residents for land titles is nearly complete, however, the problem may be more widespread than imagined.

Status of their land titles first came to light when a case involving a 76-year-old woman who had received a photocopy of the document, instead of the original, from the Federal Territory Land and Mines Office in the early 1990s was discovered recently.

With the help of Kepong MP Dr Tan Seng Giaw, the Taman Kepong Action Group chairman M.U. Arumugam and his team has secured permanent land title grants for 80% of house owners.

“The problem was caused by the developer not conducting a proper survey. The calculation was in sq ft instead of per sq metre,” said Arumugam.

Department of Survey and Mapping Malaysia (JUPEM) handled the issue that the land office inherited from their predecessors.

Currently 475 titles in Phase One of Taman Kepong have been registered and are ready for collection, while 49 are still held up.

In Phase Two, 385 of 600 titles are already registered and the remaining to be completed soon.

When the issue of Taman Kepong came to light, neighbouring residential areas decided to check on their land titles and many of them realised they are facing the same problem.

Carl Loo and his girlfriend Annie Wong, both 25, turned up at the meeting organised by Arumugam and his committee to brief the residents about the status of the transfer recently.

According to Loo, Wong’s father realised that he had a photostat copy of the temporary title.

“We came on behalf of her father to check on the best way to proceed with this problem. We only found out about it after Taman Kepong residents highlighted the issue,” said Loo.

Arumugam said they found out about the other areas affected through a list sent by the land office of house owners whose land title had been issued.

Tan said the problem was prevalent throughout the country and nearby residents, including Kepong Baru,

Jinjang, Desa Jaya and Taman Ehsan are also affected.

“I will help the residents of Kepong Baru and Jinjang since they are in my jurisdiction. As for the other areas I will talk to the relevant MPs to brief them on the issue,” added Tan.

He also said they would solve the problem one step at a time to avoid chaos and panic.

However, there are several issues that need to be taken care of by the owners before the land title could be issued.

Warm Regard, Sara Pandian

Chitty seek bumi status

MALACCA: Close to 1,500 families from the Chitty community here are hopeful that they will be given bumiputra status just like the Portuguese.

Malacca Chitty Association secretary K. Nadarajan Raja feels the community should be recognised in view of its historical roots in the state.

“The Chitty came here during the reign of founder Parameswara, long before the Europeans.

“We are appealing for bumi status as a way to preserve our identity as a community which existed here since ancient times.

Old story: Like the Baba and Nyonyas, the Chitty community assimilated with the Malacca population through marriage.

“Conceptions that the Chitty community was brought by the British to serve as Government officers and estate workers are wrong,” he said when interviewed here yesterday.

Nadarajan said many also confuse the Chitty as moneylenders orChettiars.

“We are also known as Chitty Melaka or Malacca Straits-born Hindus or Indian Peranakan,” he explained.

He said they are the descendants of traders from the Coromandel Coast in Tamil Nadu.

“Our forefathers assimilated with the Malacca population by marrying Orang Laut, Malays, Chinese, Javanese and Bataks, creating a unique new culture,” he explained.

Nadarajan said that based on Portuguese explorers’ records, there were 300 to 400 Chitty people living in the Malacca Sultanate while Naina Chattu, a Chitty leader, was a Bendahara, a position equivalent to prime minister.

Nadarajan also believes that many others held key positions as ministers and top government officials during the Malacca Sultanate.

“Most of these stories are anecdotes as we lack documents to prove them,” he said, adding that the association is raising funds to enable its members to visit the Lisbon Library in Portugal where records on the period are kept.

Nadarajan said community leaders also plan to meet Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam to request bumiputra status.

Warm Regard, Sara Pandian

Note on Japan ..

 

Our thoughts and prayers are with Japan and with all those suffer in this horrific tragedy.

 

More than  10 000 people dead and damage at least in the tens of  billions of dollars. This nature’s brutal destruction, wreaked by a devastating earthquake and tsunami, has left us stunned. One sentiment that is emerging is that, nature is alarming and can happen again at any time, in any place.

 

While following the live coverage, what struck me and struck real hard was the response of a Japanese -- ‘We're worried about what will happen next time, but whatever happens it won't be a surprise.’

It’s really admirable to see the way Japanese are finding both inspiration and reasons to vent in the aftermath of the disaster.

 

Knowing the Japanese, unlike a lot of others, they possess strong will power and have believed that nothing can keep them down.. Absolutely Nothing.

When the rest of the world believes in talking, they believe in action. Whether it was the Hiroshima Nagasaki or the multiple Earth Quake that they live with, or the Volcanic Eruption, they just know how to come out of everything – They don’t believe in sympathizing with them-self but have learnt from everything that has happened in their lives.  As they say, ‘If god brings you to it, he will also bring you through it!’. 

 

For me, Japan is an inspiration. 

 

We shall stand ready to assist the Japanese people, in whatever way we can, as they work to recover and rebuild. 

 

Thanks for reading.

 

Warm Regard, Sara Pandian

The big pictures: The moment Japan's cataclysmic tsunami engulfed a nation

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 10:54 AM on 12th March 2011

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Japan was today plunged into chaos after a cataclysmic earthquake sent merciless tsunami waves rushing through its helpless streets.

The unforgiving tide of water unleashed after one of the biggest quakes in recent history obliterated tens of thousands of buildings, devouring almost anything in its path.

As the death toll soared, dozens more countries braced themselves for similar scenes of destruction as the full force of the mother nature powered through the Pacific ocean.

 

More...

• Tsunami warnings on West Coast of U.S. as residents told to get to higher ground

Stretching into the distance, waves caused by the tsunami pour over the coastline and rush inland swamping all before them. As the seawater passes over the land it mixes with the soil and begins to change colour to a dark brown

Helpless: A ship, dwarfed by the sheer size of the whirlpool, is drawn ever closer towards the vortex as is tossed about in the foaming waters off the port of Oarai, Ibaraki

Menace: Wave upon wave heads towards the coastline which has already been breached by an earlier onslaught

With fires and destruction all around him a man picks his way carefully though the rubble while (right) there's gridlocked in either direction in Sendai as people try to escape the coastal city

This extraordinary image shows how the quake split this road in Satte on the island of Honshu right down the middle

Two women in Urayasu city, Chiba, scramble up a road that was buckled by the force of the quake. Right, a young woman wells up and leans on her friend as the true scale of the disaster that has claimed the lives of hundreds of people becomes apparent

Collapsed: Three shocked employees look at what has become of the factory in Sukagawa city, Fukushima, where moments earlier they had been working

Raging seas: The tsunami pours through trees and engulfs homes on the coast of Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, after the earthquake struck

The same scene just moments later shows how the entire area with dozens of homes is completely obliterated by the unforgiving waters which swept away anything in their path. Bobbing about on the surface is all the debris the waters have picked up along the way

Swelling: The murky flow of mud and debris trapped in the tide of water washes over the tarmac car park at Sendai airport in northern Japan

Destruction: Tsunami tidal waves race upstream along the Naka river at Hitachinaka city in Ibaraki hours after the massive 8.9 magnitude quake struck this morning

Shock: A young couple at a bookshop in Sendai, northern Japan, embrace as the ceiling collapses  and the building rocks from the force of the quake while in Tokyo, right, black smoke rises from fires caused by the quake

Aftermath: Clouds of grey smoke billow out of an oil refinery, and an inferno burns at its centre, in Chiba following the earthquake

Concerned: Two office workers in Tokyo brace themselves for a potential disaster as the earthquake rumbled buildings and smoke can be seen rising from skyscrapers outside

Effects: A mother and her daughter watch nervously as pools of water from burst pipes encroach on the pavement in Tokyo while, right, paramedics carry away casualties from a nearby building that was rocked by the earthquake

Red alert: Flames engulf homes that were hit with the full force of the tsunami in the Miyagi region of north eastern Japan

Debris: An eerie mist sweeps across the debris of destroyed homes and cars caught in the raging tsunami waters in Kesennuma in Miyagi, northern Japan

Explosion: Flames reach hundreds of feet into the sky after a natural gas facility in Chiba near Tokyo explodes after the earthquake, while right, a fire tears through residential houses in Yamada in northern Japan

Stranded: Shoppers sit on the floor of a department store as train and bus services were suspended due to the earthquake

Cold: Elderly women who are likely to have experienced a number of earthquakes in their lifetime sit on the street as they take in the most recent disaster which is one of the worst in recent history

Stuck: Stranded commuters inside Tokyo railway station prepare themselves for a long wait as the city, where infrastructure is designed to withstand disasters, recovers from the earthquake

Aftershocks: A frail elderly man rests under a blanket as all around him the country is gripped by the full scale of the earthquake and right, young Japanese people evacuated from buildings at risk of collapsing wrap blankets around themselves

At risk: Confusion spead amoung passengers who were taken off planes at Narita International Airport in Naita city, suburban Tokyo

Pile-up: New cars ready to be shipped are stacked on top of each other after the water gushed through Hitachinaka city in Ibaraki prefecture

The sheer force of the quake is evident in this image of the road in Fukushima which has been flipped, buckled and broken

Aftermath: The remains of houses are surrounded by broken wood and concrete after flood waters engulfed Iwaki town, Fukushima prefecture

Giant fireballs rise from an oil refinery in Ichihara, which lies on the eastern coast of Japan, after being shaken by the earthquake off the coast

Warm Regard, Sara Pandian