"SUPERMOON" Tonight....

It's a bird...It's a plane...It's "Supermoon"!

Tomorrow morning at 7:32 a.m. the moon will be at its closest point to Earth at the same time that it is full, an event scientists call a “lunar perigee,” or as we laymen refer to it, a SUPERMOON but the moon will have already set at that time and the sun will already be climbing into the sky.

Not to worry....

Broad Channel residents should be able to soak in it this evening after it rises at 7:42 p.m. into the early hours of Sunday morning before it sets at 4:35 a.m.

The only real physical effect is on the tides, which are slightly stronger when the Moon is closer to the Earth, but that happens every month. We’ll have somewhat bigger tides on June 23 because the tides are larger when the Moon is full - its alignment opposite the Sun in the sky means their forces add together, slightly amplifying their combined effects - but it’s not that big a deal.

As with any full moon, we will be subject to a "spring tide" with tonight's "SuperMoon" which delivers the highest tides of the lunar cycle.

Tonight's 7.0 foot high tide is at 8:31 p.m. as the moon approaches perigee.

Sunday evening's 7.1 foot high tide will be at 9:13 p.m. as the moon orbits back towards its apogee.

West 12th Road as well as other low lying Broad Channel roads will experience some tidal street flooding with these high tides.

Now, "SuperMoon" aside, let me say this:  Go outside and look at the full Moon! It’s gorgeous. It always is. If you have normal eyesight you can spot light and dark areas—the blue-gray regions are called maria, Latin for “seas”, because it was once fancifully thought that’s what they are. In reality, they are vast areas where gigantic asteroid impacts billions of years ago flooded the surface with dark lava. Reality is, as usual, way cooler than what we imagine.

Through binoculars, you can clearly see the shapes of the maria, and several large craters are visible as well. If you have even a small telescope the Moon comes alive, saturated with craters, the younger ones with tremendous delicate rays of material stretching away from them.

If all this talk about a “Supermoon” gets people outside looking up, that’s fine with me, as long as they understand what they’re seeing. And even then, just appreciating the beauty of our nearest celestial neighbor is an end unto itself.  

After all, a bright, big, full moon shining over Jamaica Bay and our island community of Broad Channel is something we can all appreciate!