[slate]
So a supermoon
is the closest full moon of the year. Now what makes this particular supermoon
coming up this weekend so special is that it's going to be the closest full moon
we've that had since 1948. So it's an opportunity to go out and see a
beautiful show in the night sky.
[slate]
The best time to see the supermoon is really anytime over the weekend and early into next
week. As long as it's clear out, you're away from
tall buildings, trees and the sun has gone down
the moon will be up in the sky. You can go out and see the supermoon.
There's no one moment in time that you have to be outside. So if it's cloudy Saturday night
definitely try to go out Sunday night and see it. Or even into Monday night. What will make this
supermoon so special is that because it's going to be close, we'll have, it'll be a
14 percent larger than the smallest full moon. but also 30 percent
brighter than the smallest full moon. So you'll see this bright, beautiful show in the show.
[slate]
One of the biggest surprises
coming back from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission - LRO - is that
we're able to detect the changes that are occurring on the lunar surface that are occurring essentially
today, or over the last seven years. We're seeing new impact craters that are
forming across the lunar surface. Now the effect of these new impact craters is to
erase surface features. And so the boot prints that were left by the Apollo astronauts
over 45 years ago are being erased at a rate much faster than we
expected before. Before LRO we thought they'd be around for millions of years. And it turns out
they're be erased after several tens of thousands of years. And so one of the things
that we're learning is the moon is a much more dynamic place than we knew before. And for that
reason it's a fascinating place.
[slate]
One of the amazing things that we've learned recently especially for
places like Pluto is that surfaces of planets are very dynamic.
We never expected that Pluto would have smooth surfaces that appear to be very young.
And the reason that we think those surfaces are so young is because we've been to the moon.
We use our understanding the moon to apply that knowledge across the solar system. So whether you're looking at
Pluto or Mercury, our knowledge of the moon informs how we understand how planets
work.
[slate] To learn more
about LRO you can go to NASA.gov/LRO. Of course you can also follow us
on Twitter @LRO_NASA. And please post your pictures
of the supermoon using hashtag #NASAsupermoon.