Its A Supermoon Weekend on Planet Earth
Saturday, June 22, 2013 @ 5:17 AM
Prince George, B.C. – Residents of the central interior should have a good opportunity to see the closest supermoon of the.jpg)
year this weekend. Cloudy periods will be mixed with sunny days and starry nights throughout the weekend.
year this weekend. Cloudy periods will be mixed with sunny days and starry nights throughout the weekend.A “supermoon” is a new or full moon that occurs with the moon at its closest approach to earth. The closest full moon last year was on May 6th, 2012 (photo to right). And the next one won’t be until August 2014.
The moon will become full at 4:32 a.m. PDT on Sunday. It reaches its closest point to Earth twenty-two minutes before that and will be visible after sunset Sunday night for your viewing pleasure. This will be the largest supermoon this year. It is also known as a perigee moon and occurs when a full moon lines up with the Earth and the sun at a specific point in its orbit. That is called the lunar perigee.
Now Blair Stunder, President of the Prince George Astronomical Society, says while the moon will appear about 30% bigger, "it’s actually like putting an 8-inch pie plate in front of an 8-and-a-quarter-inch pie plate. That’s the difference in size." He also says the effect of a supermoon is much greater in December, when it’s really dark, than in late June when the sky is much brighter at night.
Comments
It is so pretty to look at at work. And it gives great light too.
Comments for this article are closed.