Next Saturday the 19th the Moon will be located 356,575 kilometers from Earth , that is, 7% closer to the average distance that separates our planet from its satellite (382,900 kilometers). Although from the southern hemisphere it will only be 1% larger, in the northern hemisphere the perceived lunar size will be 14% larger .
The Moon's orbit around the Earth is slightly elliptical, and its two extremes are called apogee and perigee, when the satellite is farther and closer to our planet respectively. The Saturday phenomenon, nicknamed "supermoon" for its uniqueness, occurs during the lunar perigee. And its effects on Earth are barely perceptible, as NASA has clarified after the astrologer Richar Nolle mistakenly linked this event to the natural disasters of recent days. "The coincidence of the Moon's proximity to the full moon phase will not affect the Earth's internal energy balance," stresses Jim Garvin, chief scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Although the Moon causes terrestrial tides, it is not capable of triggering devastating earthquakes , they add from the space agency.
