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Super Moon at Papago Park in Phoenix
A runner makes his way along a trail on a butte in front of the super Moon at Papago Park in Phoenix, Arizona May 5, 2012. Reuters

People across the world witnessed the super moon on May 5, 2012. This year the super moon was 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter than other full moons of 2012.

The Super moon occurs once a year when the moon makes its closest approach to earth on its elliptical orbit. Super moon is also known as perigee moon.

The moon follows an elliptical path around earth with one side ("perigee") about 50,000 km closer than the other ("apogee"). Full moons that occur on the perigee side of the moon's orbit seem an extra big and bright, according to Nasa.

Although the super moon looks stunning, many researchers had claimed that super moon would cause natural disasters like tsunami, earthquake and volcanic eruption. Scientists have proved that it is just a myth.

Scientists and researchers recently conducted a detailed study and found that the super moon does not cause any disaster. They claimed that earth has stored an incredible amount of internal energy within its thin outer shell or crust, and the small differences in tidal forces exerted by the moon are not enough to fundamentally overcome the much larger forces within the planet.

Even though scientists have busted the myth there are several other stories about the super moon. In medieval times people believed that the full moon or the super moon could make a person go crazy. They believed that the moon caused mental disorders.

Still there are some who believe that on full moon night people will fall ill or there will be a drastic increase in crime rates. Several researchers have proved that there is no correlation between the phase of the moon and the incidence of crime, sickness, or human behaviour.

Nasa scientists and several researchers across the globe have proved that the super moon is just an astronomical treat which we can witness once a year.

"The super moon really attests to the wonderful new wealth of data Nasa's LRO mission has returned for the moon, making several key science questions about our nearest neighbour all the more important," said Dr James Garvin, Chief Scientist at Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Center, in a statement.

NASA Earthquake