O, MEGA MOON HOW BEAUTIFUL THOU ART

Moonwatchers: witness a beautiful Supermoon Sunday evening November 13th or tomorrow November 14th, 2016. The moon will be as nearby as it can: ‘only’ 356.509 km away. Although it may be cloudy, people in The Netherlands just look in the Northeast direction at 17:21 hrs. Tuesday 07:17 hrs, when the Supermoon goes down, it will also look much bigger than usual. 

Closest full moon to earth

A super moon is the closest full moon to earth. Monday November 14th it will be the biggest Supermoon in 70 years. Last time was in 1948. The next time will be on November 25th, 2034 (UTC time). The phenomenon occurs when a full Moon or new Moon coincides with the Moon’s closest approach to Earth. This event is also called ‘perigee’ (less then 360.000 km away). A super Full Moon looks circa 12% to 14% bigger and 30% brighter than its counterpart, the Micro moon (or apogee). At apogee, the Moon is the farthest away (405,000 kilometres), while on average the distance is about 382,900 kilometres.

Bigger in Northern winter                                

Supermoons during Northern Hemisphere winter months tend to look larger than Supermoons that occur the rest of the year because Earth is closer to the Sun. The Sun’s gravity pulls the Moon closer to Earth, making any winter Supermoons look bigger than summer Supermoons.

Clouds across the Moon

Unfortunately, the Supermoon may not be visible everywhere in The Netherlands, due to cloudy weather. A good chance to see it, is Sunday-evening November 13th, because that is a very clear evening.

Supermoon

Image by TamarValley Cottages

Want to know more?

Read more about this subject, the Moon and its orbit here. If you read this Sunday-evening November 13th 2016, go outside and watch the moon! It will look extra big when it is close to buildings and other structures.

NASA has its own Moon-site. Read what they’ve got to tell us about the Supermoon here. Also look here for 10 need-to-know facts on the Moon, by NASA.

Moonphases anyone?                                                

For those in awe of Moonphases, check your local Moonshine here to phase the moon on time! For the next super full moon, we’ll have to wait until 2034.

Header image from https://mobile.twitter.com/Learntoskywatch

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