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 technical name is the 'perigee-syzygy' of the Earth-Moon-Sun system. The opposite phenomenon, an apogee-syzygy, has been called a 'micromoon', though this term is not as widespread as 'supermoon'. The term "supermoon" is not astronomical, but originated in modern … [Read more...]
‘Supermoon’ will light night sky this weekend of MAY 4-6, 2012
May 4, 2012 by
A so-called supermoon will brighten the night sky tomorrow, though it might not be quite as super as some people believe. Supermoons occur when the moon's closest approach to the Earth — known as perigee — coincides with a full moon. The moon has an elliptical orbit with one side about 50,000 kilometres closer than the other. The perigee and the full moon occur within a minute of each other Saturday night (at about 11:35 p.m. ET), and the moon will seem as much as 14 per cent bigger and … [Read more...]
