If you look up into the sky on Wednesday night, you’ll likely notice the full moon gleaming bigger and brighter than usual. You’ll be looking at the second supermoon of the year – the term for when the moon’s orbit is closest to Earth while it is full. “I think people forget to look up a lot of the time,” says Dr Sara Webb, an Australian astrophysicist at Swinburne University in Melbourne. “It is nice to go out and look at the sky … and enjoy a full moon when you can.”
What is a supermoon? Earth’s moon is not always the same distance from Earth. “When it is at its closest approach, that is when we call any full moon a supermoon,” Webb says. The supermoon will be about 357,000km from Earth – 27,000km closer than it normally is. “Quite a distance,” as Webb notes. There are normally between two and four supermoons a year.
Where can I see the super moon? The best way to view the supermoon is as it rises above the horizon, “where you can really get that perspective of it compared to things on Earth,” Webb says. That will fall around 6pm for people in Sydney and Melbourne, 7pm for those in London and New York, and 7:30pm for the US west coast.
Find a viewing spot that is dark and looks towards east, which is where the moon will rise. Locations on east coast of Australia in Brisbane and Sydney are prime viewing sites, Webb says.
Dr Bradley Tucker, an astrophysicist at Australian National University in Canberra says rising supermoon will look “really cool” in any flat location such as US east coast or central Australia.
Webb says avoid places crowded with buildings.“Once it gets to certain point in sky,it will look like any other full moon.”
The supermoon will reach its highest and fullest point in sky about half past midnight in Australiaand just after 10:30 pm on US east coast.If you miss this one,don’t fret.Another two are set to occur,on October17thand November15ththis year.
What about full-moon lunar eclipse? A partial lunar eclipse will also happen on Wednesday but won’t be visible from Australia.The best spots to see that phenomenon are South America,wes Africa,and western Europe,Tucker says.“It’s happening during (Australian) daytime,and Moon goingto beon other sideofEarth”,Webbsays.The phenomenon occurswhen Moon appearsin line with Sun.Lunarandsolar eclipsesare chance alignments of“our three kindofheavenly bodies”,Webbsays.“OurEarthisbetweenSunandMoon.”A partial eclipseis“not quiteinalignment”,but still somethingtolookoutfor.Oneofthemostremarkablelunar phenomena isafulllunareclipse–often referredtoasa blood Moon.Webbsays.
What istheharvestMoon?TheUSnamestheMoonmonthly.“Historicallyandculturally,thiswasrelatedtodifferentthingsthatwouldhappen throughouttheyear”,Tuckerexplains.September’smoonalsohappenstobeasupermoon.ItisnamedtheHarvestMoonbecausethemiddleofSeptemberiswhenautumnharvestbegins.“SotheHarvestMoonreallydoesn’tmakesenseforus[inthesouthernhemisphere]becauseit’sthewrongwayaround”,Tuckersays
