The
Supermoon Rises
Last night’s full Moon was the biggest and brightest full Moon of the year. Astronomers call it a perigee moon; the popular term is "supermoon." Stephen Mudge photographed the bright orb rising over the Mormon temple in Brisbane, Queensland, on Aug. 10th:
Supermoons are possible because the Moon's orbit is not a circle, it is an ellipse. One side, perigee, is 50,000 km closer than the other, apogee. Yesterday the Moon became full just as it reached perigee, the point closest to Earth. The perigee supermoon you saw last tonight was as much as 14% closer and 30% brighter than other full Moons of the year. Tonight will be much the same.
Go outside at sunset, look east, and enjoy the super-moonlight!
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