Science in brief: Spotting the supermoon

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This supermoon will be big, scientists say.
This supermoon will be big, scientists say.

    Call it the greatest show on Earth: The moon will make a close and spectacular pass of Earth on Nov. 14. 

     By definition, this will be a supermoon. As put by the Oxford dictionary it is “the phenomenon whereby the moon appears particularly large in the sky owing to the coincidence of its closest approach to the earth (the perigee) with a full moon.”  
    This particular supermoon will be the closest to Earth since 1948. The moon will be brightest just before dawn Monday, according to NASA, and will reach perigee at 6:22 a.m. EST. If morning isn’t doable, viewers will be able to see it Sunday or Monday evening.

LINGERING DROUGHT: Mars may have been wet and habitable 3 billion years ago, but it is rough going today.
    A study led by researchers at the University of Stirling in Scotland found a lack of rust on meteorites on the surface. Researchers concluded that the planet has been dry for millions of years.
    In a news release from the university, Christian Schröder, lecturer in environmental science and planetary exploration and a lead author, explained that the research affirms “just how dry the environment is today. For life to exist in the areas we investigated, it would need to find pockets far beneath the surface, located away from the dryness and radiation present on the ground.”
    The researchers used data from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity focused on a cluster of meteorites at an area just south of the planet's equator.
    Last year, scientists announced that liquid water exists under certain conditions on the red planet. The water is briny and not pure, 
    The new research has been published in Nature.com. 

     Related:

    Scientists say Mars has water

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