Remember to look at the sky tomorrow night | Supermoon | Kola Beach Resort

Supermoon of 29th August 2015

A supermoon is the coincidence of a full moon or a new moon with the closest approach the Moon makes to the Earth on its elliptical orbit, resulting in the largest apparent size of the lunar disk as seen from Earth. 

The association of the Moon with both oceanic and crustal tides has led to claims that the supermoon phenomenon may be associated with increased risk of events such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, but the evidence of such a link is widely held to be unconvincing.

The most recent occurrence was on March 20, 2015.

According to NASA, a full moon at perigee is up to 14% larger (in area, or almost 7% larger diameter) and 30% brighter than one at its farthest point, or apogee.

Terminology

The term supermoon is not used within the astronomical community, which use the term perigee-syzygy or perigee full/new moon. Perigee is the point at which the Moon is closest in its orbit to the Earth, and syzygy is when the Earth, the Moon and the Sun are aligned, which happens at every full or new moon. Hence, a supermoon can be regarded as a combination of the two, although they do not perfectly coincide each time.

Frequency

The full moon cycle is the period between alignments of the lunar perigee with the sun and the earth, which is about 13.9443 synodic months (about 411.8 days). Thus approximately every 14th full moon will be a supermoon. However, halfway through the cycle the full moon will be close to apogee, and the new moons immediately before and after can be supermoons. Thus there may be as many as three supermoons per full moon cycle.

The full moon on September 29, 2015, will present the closest supermoon of the year (356,896 kilometers or 221,754 miles). What’s more, this September 29, 2015 full moon will stage a total lunar eclipse, concluding a series of Blood Moon eclipses that started with the total lunar eclipse of April 15, 2014.

wikipedia.com

earthsky.org

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Excursions of Kola Beach Resort | Gedi Ruins

 What's cool near Kola Beach Resort | Gede Ruins

The Ruins of Gedi are the remains of a Swahili town located in Gedi, a village near the coastal town of Malindi in Kenya.

From the 13th or 14th to 17th centuries, Gedi was a thriving community along the jungle coast of East Africa. Although no written record exists of this town, excavations between 1948 and 1958 revealed that the Muslim inhabitants traded with people from all over the world. Some of the findings included beads from Venice, coins and a Ming vase from China, an iron lamp from India, and scissors from Spain. The population was estimated to exceed at least 2500 people. These items can be found in the museum in the complex which was opened in 2000.

Gedi had a mosque, a palace, and large stone houses. These houses were complex for their time, with bathrooms with drains and overhead basins to flush toilets. The city's streets were laid out at right angles and had drainage gutters. There are also wells which supplied water to the community. The material used to construct the buildings was made from coral reef from the nearby ocean.

In the early 16th century, the village was abandoned. A possible explanation was that a punitive expedition came from Mombasa against Malindi and forced the inhabitants to leave. A temporary reoccupation likely occurred by the nomadic Oromo tribe from Somalia in the late 16th century, who later abandoned the town.

It is unclear whether the actual name of the town was Gedi, Gede, or Kilimani. The Oromo word "Gede" means "precious", but the town might have been named after the last Oromo leader to camp on the site.

The area was gazetted as a National Monument in 1927. In 1948, the remains of Gedi were declared a Kenyan national park. The ruins continue to be a popular tourist destination. Recently a tree house has been constructed in the center of the complex, around a giant tree near the main palace ruins. The site is usually open till 6 pm. There is also a small shop to buy drinks and souvenirs.The site is inhabited by guenon monkeys, which frequently interact with visitors.

According to local tradition, the ruins are protected by the spirits of its priests. These "Old Ones" supposedly curse anyone who harms the site or removes anything.