Super moon 2012: 'Gloriously full,' with 14% more lunar excitement

According to NASA's calculations, 11:34 p.m. EDT Saturday is the moment when the moon will hit your eye like a big pizza pie, to paraphrase Dean Martin. It's "super moon" time.

NASA is letting its enthusiasm show in a new video on the subject. "The timing is almost perfect," it notes. At 11:34 (that's 8:34 p.m. Pacific), May's full moon will reach perigee  --  the closest point to Earth in its elliptical pattern -- and "only one minute later, the moon will line up with the Earth and the sun to become gloriously full."

For a bunch of scientists, that's pretty poetic talk.

The moon will appear 14% larger than other full moons of 2012.  "The swollen orb rising in the East at sunset will seem super indeed."

This doesn't sound like a super moon -- it sounds like a super duper moon.

Anthony Cook, astronomical observer at L.A.'s Griffith Observatory, is a little more measured in his view of the upcoming phenomenon.

It will be 30% brighter, yes, but that's 30% brighter than the moon is when it is at "apogee" -- the farthest point in its elliptical orbit around the Earth -- he said.

"I'm a little skeptical that most people would casually see that this full moon looks huge compared to the one that rises six months from now," he said. "You're talking about a fairly small size difference in something that's already small."

But, not one to spoil the fun, Cook said that careful, observant moon watchers could recognize the super-ness. The best time to do this is when the moon is close to the horizon.  The "horizon illusion" makes the moon appear bigger, Cook said, "because you're comparing it to more familiar things."

So Saturday night, try to catch a glimpse of the super moon when it's most likely to appear maxed out -- just as it's rising.  This full moon should leave you at least 14% more impressed.

Massive earthquake strikes Indonesia, tremors felt in India!

India has withdrawn the tsunami warning issued after the massive earthquake measuring 8.6 on the Richter scale in Indonesia this afternoon, Press Trust of India reports.

A second round of tremors was felt in India in cities like Kolkata and Chennai at 4.25 pm, but there was no tsunami threat from these aftershocks. India's Nicobar Islands, closest to the epicentre of the quake, is still on alert.

The original earthquake struck Indonesia at 2.08 pm, and first reports said it measured 8.9 on the Richter scale. It spurred warnings of a possible tsunami. The quake was later downgraded to 8.6 magnitude.

A little over two hours after the first earthquake, Indonesia reported an aftershock that hovered around 8.2 on the Richter scale.

Officials in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are prepped for emergency processes. People have been asked to move away from the coast and the government evacuated some people from South Andaman as a precaution.

The Indian Air Force has kept ready for relief ops; six teams of 40 people each from the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) have been positioned at Hindon near Delhi, and at Chennai and two C-130 J heavy-lift aircrafts of the Indian Air Force are leaving for Port Blair with NDRF teams and 10 tonnes of relief material.
 
Before the strong aftershocks, the Home Secretary RK Singh said, "As of now there are no signs of a tsunami." But he said the union government was in constant touch with officials in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Odisha.

The minutes after the first quake saw emergency drills in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. On the beaches at Chennai, policemen used megaphones to ask people to leave, with little effect. Mobile phone networks were jammed in the city till 4 pm. In Andhra Pradesh, fishermen were asked to return from sea. In the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, civilians were asked to move to higher ground. In Kolkata, metro trains were stopped at 2.40 pm for nearly an hour; as a precaution, passengers were evacuated.

The quake was felt in Singapore, Thailand and India. High-rise apartments and offices on Malaysia's west coast shook for at least a minute.

In India, tremors were reported in Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore and the southern part of Chennai. The tremors lasted for a few seconds. In Bhubaneshwar, people were seen running out of their homes and offices. No damage has been reported so far. 

Extract from http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/earthquake-in-indonesia-india-withdraws-tsunami-warning-196421

Gasoline price climb to $3.93 in US

                    The average price of gasoline in the US rose to $3.93 per gallon, an increase of 11.49 cents in the last two weeks, according to the Lundberg Survey conducted across the nation.Tulsa, Okla., has the nation's lowest average gas price at $3.58, while Chicago has the highest at $4.56.

                            Oil prices have climbed this year following attempts by the US and Europe to push for sanctions against Iran. The US and other western nations have alleged that Iran is in the process of building a nuclear weapon, a claim denied by Tehran. In response, Iran has threatened to withhold oil deliveries and block the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil flows.

                           With the upcoming presidential election, the rising gasoline price is of serious concern to President Barack Obama.Republican candidates blame the Obama administration for high fuel prices. Mitt Romney’s address to a crowd earlier in March in Vernon Hills was a clear indication of this. “With the economy looking like it's getting a little better on the employment front, gasoline's getting a lot worse,” Romney said. The focus of the attack has certainly moved towards gasoline prices.

     The bicycle is the most efficient machine ever created:  Converting calories into gas, a bicycle gets the equivalent of three thousand miles per gallon.  ~Bill Strickland