THE SUPERMOON by Vashaanth Gowri-Kriszyk

Home , Full moon, Supermoon, Syzygy (astronomy)

THE SUPERMOON By Vashaanth Gowri-Kriszyk

Last month (December, 2016), an expected, yet rare event called a super-moon occurred. This meant that the moon appeared to be 14% larger and 30% brighter. This is because the moon's elliptical orbit makes the moon closer at some points and further at others. Please see Figure 1. for illustration.

Figure 1.

The elliptical orbit is the path where the moon orbits the earth. The scientific name for the super-moon is Perigee-syzygy of the Earth, Sun and Moon system which means that the Perigee side of the moon is closest to the Earth. The other side of the moon is called Apogee. The opposite event is called a micro moon, or scientifically it is called Apogee-Syzygy of the Earth, Sun and Moon system. The Apogee side is the furthest side from Earth. A super moon or micro moon is either a full moon or new moon. Please see Figure 2. for illustration.

Figure 2.

The most recent super moon took place on 14th of November 2016, and the last time this happened was around 69 years ago in 1947. On some occasions a super moon occurs at the same time as a total lunar eclipse. It is called a total lunar eclipse when the Sun, Earth and Moon align perfectly with each other. That means that the Sun, Earth and Moon are pretty much in an exact line. Please see Figure 3. for illustration.

Figure 3.

Not many years ago astronomers (these are space scientists) had never heard of the super moon. So who made the use of the word super moon as we know it today? An astrologist named Richard Nolle defined the super moon in 1979 as a new or full moon at, or near (90%) of, its closest path to Earth. This means that there are 4-6 super moon every year.

The orbiting of the moon mixed with rotation of the Earth creates the tides in the ocean. Thus, the super moon affects tidal waves, making the waves bigger than usual. Waves are called tides when the sea levels are high or low, and when the water is further from land or close to land, depending on the position and orbit of the moon.

To summerise, when super moons occur moonlight appear brighter. However, what is moonlight exactly? Moonlight is actually light reflecting off the moon's surface from the Sun’s (or Sol`s) surface. Therefore, when we see the moon being lit, the moonlight we see is not light from the moon itself. Instead, it is light that is being reflected from the sun on the other side of Earth onto the moon.

Finally, many social media sites encouraged people to capture a photo of the super moon. The best picture of the super moon has the International Space Station (ISS) in it several times. Amazingly, this picture (Figure 4.) was planned seven years in advance.

Figure 4.

Links.

For further information on the super-moon please visit: https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/nasa-scientist-explains-supermoon-eclipse http://www.space.com/34714-supermoon-science-nasa-explains-closest-full-moon.ht ml https://science.nasa.gov/news-articles/2016-ends-with-three-supermoons

For further general information about space/ astronomy please visit: https://www.iflscience.com/space/

Finally, this amazing picture, above, was captured from on board the International Space Station by an European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Pesquet. So this is how the super moon was when seen from space in December 2016!