SuperMoon Science Sunday
Super Moon vs. Micro Moon. Credit: Catalin Paduraru.

While the Planetarium is closed, we will be offering events at different locations in the area. The SuperMoon event will be held at the Arlington Mill Community Center, Room 527AB.

Note that daylight savings time begins at 2:00 am, March 8th, the day of this program. Clocks will be set one hour later at that time.

Have you ever heard about an upcoming “SuperMoon” and wondered what’s so super about the Moon on this occasion? Now's your chance to have all your questions about the SuperMoon answered! Join us for a very special program of activities, demonstrations, and a highly informative talk by a planetary scientist from Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab. You, too, can be a SuperMoon expert!

A SuperMoon is a full moon that occurs within a few hours of the Moon’s closest approach to Earth, which is called perigee. The term SuperMoon has its origins in late 1970s astrology. A supermoon can be 14% bigger and 30% brighter than a micromoon, which would be a full moon that occurs within a few hours of the Moon’s position farthest from the Earth, also known as apogee. In general, SuperMoons are not extremely more impressive than an average moon for most people; however, watching one rise is still wonderful.

Without a formal definition of supermoon, some disagreement about which events qualify occurs. However, most sources agree that March 9 and April 7 will be supermoons in 2020.

Activities for elementary students

1:30 pm: Lunar Cratering Activities
2:00 pm: Phases of the Moon and Eclipse Demonstrations

Lecture

2:30 pm: Dr. Angela M. Stickle talks about
         current lunar research

The Speaker

Dr. Stickle Dr. Stickle is a planetary scientist and hypervelocity impact physicist at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. She is a member of two science teams associated with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. In 2012, she earned her doctorate in planetary geology from Brown University.

 

 

Admission to this special event is free of charge.

 

Although the event is sold out, there is ample unreserved space, that will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis. We anticipate (but can not guarantee) that we will be able to accommodate all who show up.