"It will not cause any disastrous impact."Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The appearance of super moon with a bigger size and golden light on Saturday night should not be linked with a forecast of imminent disaster, astronomer Thomas Djamaluddin said.
"It will not cause any disastrous impact," Thomas, who is a deputy of science, research and aviation information affairs of the National Aviation and Space Agency (Lapan), said here over the weekend.
He said that actually super moon was not found in the astronomy`s vocabulary and that astronomy never liked it with a disaster.
The term `super moon` and its relations with disaster is only found in the astrology`s vocabulary. In astrology, the positions of heavenly bodies have impact on or affect the fate of human beings on earth.
"Astrology is not a branch of science but astronomy is a branch of science which deals with the movements and physical conditions of heavenly bodies," he said.
He said that the peak of full moon took place on Sunday morning, May 6, 2012, at 10.35 Western Indonesia Time (WIB). The perigee of the moon from the earth occurred at 10:34 WIB with a distance of 357,000 km, or 27,000 nearer from the average 384,000 km.
The astronomer said it was difficult for common people to see the real distance during the full moon`s nearest perigee.
"Why are there many pictures of the moon in the Internet which look that big? Actually it is only a relative effect on its comparison with its foreground objects," he said.
He said that the appearance of the moon in the perigee was in deed a monthly event, which happened in a period of 27.3 days. The full moon was also a monthly event with a period of 29.5 days.
Due to the different period, the appearance of the moon in the perigee and the full moon do not always take place simultaneously.
A simultaneous perigee and full moon will take place once in 18 years, namely on the multiple of 241 x 27.3 days or the same as 223 x 29.5 days.
The moon at the perigee position only has impact on the increase in the ebb and tidal surface on the earth, particularly on the water of the sea, he said.
"In this condition the surface of the sea tidal will rise high. If it takes place simultaneously with the full moon, it will generate the ebb and tidal effect, but this does not mean a disaster," he said.
(Uu.A014)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
