Were science and math your best subjects in school or did you hide when these classes were announced? Whether you are good in science class or are interested in science or not, there is a lot occurring in our world today that makes understanding some science interesting.
Saturday March 19 is the Vernal Equinox (in the Northern Hemisphere). This means that the sun is directly over the Equator and the length of days and nights around the globe are approximately equal. It is also one of the two times a year that the sun rises in the east. See the related article below for more information. The Vernal Equinox was significant to many early cultures and religions and it even plays a major role in Christianity today. Easter is always the first Sunday after the first full moon after the equinox.
March 19 is also important because it is the night of the “super moon.” On that night the moon will be closer to Earth than it has been in 18 years (about 17,000 miles closer than the average distance). That is also the night of the full moon. An astrologer, Richard Nolle, has predicted “massive earthquakes, volcanoes and powerful storms” as a result of the “super moon.” Jim Gavin of NASA analyses this “super moon” phenomena and discusses what changes we can expect. Tides may be slightly higher as a result of this alignment. The moon will appear slightly larger. But there should be no major effects caused by the “super moon.” Follow the link at the bottom of the page for more information.
In addition to the larger moon coming on Saturday, did the day seem a little shorter last Friday? If you noticed it you are really pretty sensitive. March 11 was the day of the 9.0 earthquake in Japan. There was significant destruction from the earthquake itself and the accompanying tsunami waves. But the earthquake shifted the Earth’s axis by 6.5 inches and shortened the day by 1.8 microseconds. Richard Gross of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory advises that there should be no great concern over this. He says that over the course of a year numerous factors cause the length of a day to change and a day might be longer or shorter by as much as a millisecond in a given year. Earth’s position on its axis could also vary as much as 40 inches in a given year.
There are lots of interesting happenings in our daily lives. Remember to take a minute to learn about what is new- it keeps your mind growing.