Posted by So you want to see an awesome moon rising over Los Angeles this summer? Okay great. Us too (and if you just want to see the dates and times, feel free to scroll right to the bottom).
However to begin, let’s drop some moon facts and background because your first thought might be, what the hell is a supermoon anyway?
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First, some things that are true:
– Because of the oval shaped orbit of the moon, the distance between us and our moon varies on any given night.
– A perigee moon occurs when a full moon is simultaneously in it’s closest proximity to the earth.
– The “supermoon” term fits into a little bit broader category, encompassing any full moons that occur within 90% of their closest proximity to the earth.
– When the moon is in perigee, it’s up to 14% bigger and brighter than normal. Basically, it looks friggin’ awesome.
– In 2014, there will be three supermoons occurring in Los Angeles, once each month in July, August, and September.
If you’re looking for a bit more detail, the below video produced by NASA for a 2012 supermoon provides some great background on the perigee phenomena and the scientific explanation behind it.
http://iframe.ly/UsCZdv
Now, after watching that, the biggest mystery to me in all of this is this: “For reasons not fully understood by astronomers or psychologists, low-hanging moons look unnaturally large when they beam through trees, buildings, and other foreground objects.”
All we know is, you’ll probably be in for a pretty spectacular sight.
That said, here are dates where the “supermoon” is set to occur in Los Angeles, along with exact times when the moonrise is set to occur.
All times are Los Angeles local (PST).
July 12th, 2014 | Moonrise at 8:17pm
August 10th, 2014 | Moonrise at 7:40pm
September 8th, 2014 | Moonrise at 6:38pm
Since it’ll probably look cooler if you’re looking through trees, or buildings, you’ll probably want to find a vantage point that allows for some of that scenery to intersect your view.
Some ideas I found on Reddit include:
– Anywhere in Malibu or Palos Verdes
– Griffith Observatory
– Santa Monica Pier
– Any place in the desert
Feel free to leave your suggestions for viewing spots in the comments below! Cheers.
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