ScienceCasts: Super Moon

LUNAR HOCUM

Recently, my mom is bothering me about some news of a so called "super moon" thingy majig that her Facebook friends have been talking about. They say it's going to cause disasters and all sort of stuff and now with the occurrence of the tsunami in Japan I'm sure they're gonna spill out more assumptions, which to say, no offense, is nonsense!

So here I am to correct this hocum with scientific facts about the moon.

The moon as it orbits around the Earth will eventually come closer and also farther because of its elliptical orbit. The closest position of the moon to the Earth is called a Lunar Perigee. The Farthest position of the moon from the Earth is called a Lunar Apogee. While it is true that the gravitational pull between the moon and the Earth causes a tidal bulge, the Perigee position will not cause it to create the devastating scenarios that are spread through rumors.

Now what about the Tsunami in Japan, well the moon is not even over Japan at the time of the tsunami nor was it in its Perigee position. It is pure coincidence. The Earthquake doesn't relate with the moon's so called relative closeness to the Earth.

From POPSCI it says:
Past supermoons have coincided with natural disasters--the Indonesian earthquake in 2005, Australian flooding in 1954--but scientists note that those are unrelated, more likely than not. Says John Bellini, a geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey: "A lot of studies have been done on this kind of thing by USGS scientists and others. They haven't found anything significant at all." The tides will pull a bit higher, but earthquakes are almost completely unaffected and volcanoes are not likely to show unusual behavior. John Vidale, a seismologist at the University of Washington in Seattle, said "Practically speaking, you'll never see any effect of lunar perigee. It's somewhere between 'It has no effect' and 'It's so small you don't see any effect.'"

In reality, the Lunar orbit is expanding outwards. The moon as it revolves around the Earth slowly moves away into space. This means that when the moon approaches it's Perigee it is still further out into space compared to when it was before. Proof of which is the occurrence of annular solar eclipses which means that the moon is further out and their angular diameter is not big enough to cover the sun completely.
So, scientifically speaking, there is no way that the moon caused the tsunami.

Not understanding something and spreading false facts about it can cause confusion. The Mars hoax for example where they say that Mars will appear as large as the moon in the night sky is theoretically impossible. We have to be careful about the things we share.

Here is an additional sight you can view written by an actual scientist:
Hudson Valley Geologist

2011 National Astronomy Week

Aside from February being the love month, we are also celebrating the National Astronomy Week (NAW). This is a week long celebration of different Astronomy societies in the country. This year, the theme is: Astronomy Transforming the Culture of Learning Toward Nation Building.

The NAW was conceptualized by Edwin Aguirre and Imelda Joson of PAS. It was formalized as a celebration by Pres. Fidel V. Ramos in Presidential Proclamation No. 130.

To know more about the NAW you can check the following sites:
Philippine Astronomical Society
Astronomical League of the Philippines
Philippine Astronomy

Geminids Again! :)

This is the first meteor shower I observed and I'm lucky that it was the best. The Geminids meteor shower has always been very promising. The Junior Philippine Physics society will be organizing a public observation for that event. Hopefully the weather will cooperate. We will be open on the 13th and the 14th.

The annual Geminids meteor shower will reach its peak in the night of the 14th. The meteor shower will radiate (or appear to come from) the constellation Gemini. Normally, you would be able to see around 60 per hour during good sky conditions when Gemini is low, however when it is at the zenith (point directly above you) you will get to see (+=)100 meteors per hour.

Record the beginning and end times of each of your observing periods to the minute. For those enthusiast meteor observer, you can report your observation using the methods and report forms at the International Meteor Organization site, www.imo.net.

Astrophotography Online

Orion Nebula

If you want to try astrophotography but have no access to equipment then this post will help you.

The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics developed a MicroObservatory Robotic Telescope Network. This allows users online to log on to the use of the telescopes to take an image of a selected celestial body. The MicroObservatory is a network of 5 automated telescopes that can be accessed on-line.

The MicroObservatory is designed to allow students and teachers nationwide to investigate the wonders of the deep sky from their classrooms. The project is sponsored by the National Science Foundation (RED 9454767), with additional in-kind contributions from Eastman Kodak Company and Apple Computer.

Those who log on are responsible for taking their own images. This means focusing the telescope, selecting exposure times, filters, and other parameter. This helps the users get a feel of familiarity with the use of the telescopes. MicroObservatory has a wide range of targets including solar system objects, stars and nebulae, and also galaxies and deep-sky objects.

Images then can be edited by the user using a program that can be downloaded from the sight, or via other photo editing software.

Blackout

Last night, on my way home from the midweek service, a power line popped taking out all the lights in the area. It was relatively dark and I looked up to see the stars. I looked at Pastor Ditz recalling that I owe a stargazing session with her dormers at the Davao cottage. I told her "walang ilaw, sakto pang stargazing." She agreed excitedly telling her dormers that we will have a stargazing session at our house. At home I clamored blindly for my telescope in the dark. I rushed to set-up my scope outside with only a candle to light up my set-up. Eventually I was able to put it up and set it directly to Jupiter. I gave them a brief introduction of the telescope and Galileo's first look at Jupiter. They were naturally curious of what they saw.

The lights came back on and clouds started to cover the fainter stars, I wasn't able to show them more also because of the obstruction of trees in the area. Anyways, I promised them that I would take them to the department's astrodeck during the coming meteor shower.

Share the Stars

One of the good Christian traits is sharing. In science, "the process of discovery is not complete until results can be shared with others" (Keck Observatory).

Last October 14-16, I attended a youth retreat of our church. As part of the organizers, I decided to add stargazing to our list of activities. I brought my telescope along since most of the youth have already expressed an enthusiasm for stargazing. Some have even made it a point to text me whenever a bright star appears in the night sky. I was able to show them the moon, Jupiter, the Pleiades (seven sisters). I wasn't able to show more due to obstructing clouds and a fever.

I have shared my love for astronomy to my church friends and they have shared the enthusiasm with others. I recall even in one of the stargazing sessions of the physics department that one of them came back 3 times, each time bringing someone new.

Sharing astronomy to the world is fun. You get to make people wonder what else is out there. When people wonder then they become more interested. It's a wonderful way to promote astronomy. I recall, before, during the IYA that there were even those who were 'dinumog ng street children' during one of their side walk telescoping events. The science of astronomy is loved by all, not only the academically inclined but also by common folk. You'll be amazed at the individuals who get caught up in the sharing of astronomy.

The other night, I was at Mabinay attending a Church workers assembly, I was reading a fully illustrated book entitled Smithsonian's Intimate Guide to the Cosmos. A pastor who was sitting beside me wanted to take a look. I've only began to read that book but he was already asking questions about all the pictures. We discussed Mars rovers, landscape of Venus, black holes, the giant impactor theory, solar sails, etc.

Astronomy is fascinating!