Moonday night: Skywatchers revel in one of the most impressive celestial events of the year
Moonday night: Skywatchers revel in one of the most impressive celestial events of the year
Show all 4Your support helps us to tell the story
As your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.
Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn't have the resources to challenge those in power.
Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November election
Andrew Feinberg
White House Correspondent
The night skies were graced by the arrival of the “supermoon” this weekend, offering skywatchers around the globe one of the most impressive celestial events of the year.
Astronomers call it a “perigee full moon”, a relatively rare moment when a full Moon coincides with it reaching its closest point to Earth.
At its peak, which occurred at 4am on Sunday in the UK, the Moon came within 222,000 miles of the planet, making it 14 per cent larger and 30 per cent brighter than at its furthest point from the planet.
But the “supermoon” is mostly an optical illusion. For most of the night, the human eye finds it hard to notice much difference, but when it is close to the horizon, the contrast with trees and buildings fools the brain into exaggerating the slight change in size.
“The ‘supermoon’ might look bigger than normal if you see it in the evening when the Moon’s just rising, but the real size difference isn’t big enough to notice,” wrote Shari Balouchi in Sky and Telescope magazine.
Those who missed seeing the Moon in its full glory should still be able to catch the event tonight and perhaps even Tuesday as well. After that, you’ll have to wait until August 2014.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments