How to see the supermoon — and shooting stars, too (Space.com/MSNBC)
By Tariq Malik
If the full moon looks a bit bigger and brighter in Saturday night's sky, you're not seeing things: It's just the "supermoon" — the biggest moon of 2012. And there's a meteor shower from Halley's Comet that's peaking as well, adding to the sky show.
The full moon of May will hit its peak overnight Saturday night and early Sunday, just one minute after the moon makes its closest approach to Earth. The timing means the moon, weather permitting, could appear up to 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than a full moon at its farthest distance — an event scientists have nicknamed the "supermoon."
The moon will be at its fullest at 11:35 p.m. ET just after hitting perigee, the point in its orbit that brings the moon closest to Earth. The technical name for the event is a "perigee moon."
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The supermoon is not the only celestial sight gracing the evening skies this weekend. On Saturday night, the annual Eta Aquarid meteor shower is due to hit its peak, promising up to 60 meteors per hour for skywatchers with optimum viewing conditions (clear weather and away from city lights).
The Eta Aquarid meteor shower is one of two "shooting star" displays created by dust left over by the famed Halley's comet as it makes its 76-year trip around the sun. The Orionid meteor shower in October is the other meteor show from the comet.
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more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47305718/ns/technology_and_science-space/
ETA link: http://www.nasa.gov/connect/chat/allsky.html
