The Spectacular Supermoon 2017 Is A Real Treat For Space Lovers And Stargazers
The supermoon, dubbed the “full cold moon,” brightened up the skies of such landmarks as the Statue of Liberty in New York and other places all over the world last night (Sunday evening). It was a real stunning treat for space lovers and stargazers.
Dr. Noah Petro, a research scientist from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, said that supermoons are a great opportunity for people to start looking at the moon, not just that once but every chance they have. He further said that a supermoon typically appears 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than the average moon seen in the sky each night, as noted by Fox News.
NASA has stated that the supermoon that appeared last night was the first in the “supermoon trilogy.” The second and third supermoons will come on January 1 and January 31. December’s full moon is traditionally referred to as the “cold moon.” It was about 222,761 miles from planet Earth and closer than the average of 238,900 miles.
The technical name for a supermoon is “perigee-syzygy” of the Earth-Moon-Sun system. It is known as a full moon or a new moon, in which the moon reaches its closest point to the Earth, referred to as perigee moon. Its name “supermoon” was given by the astrologer Richard Nolle.
https://twitter.com/newnewspage/status/937556798906753024
According to BBC, this moon’s elliptical orbit means that its distance from the planet earth is not constant but rather varies across a full orbit. With this uneven orbit, further variations are triggered by the movement of the Earth around the sun. This means that the full moon and the perigee are not always synchronized. However, when the perigee and full moon synchronize together, it becomes a supermoon.
An aircraft passes in front of the Moon, Sunday, Dec. 3, 2017 in Washington. Today's full Moon is the first of three consecutive supermoons. #supermoon2017 https://t.co/IYFIJS2n6z pic.twitter.com/uzXZAsjYEf
— NASA HQ PHOTO (@nasahqphoto) December 4, 2017
The closest supermoon that occurred was on November 14, 2016, with the previous one on January 26, 1948. It will not be that close again until November 25, 2034. Meanwhile, the closest supermoon of the century will happen on December 6, 2052.
Have you stepped outside to see tonight’s supermoon? Here, the Moon is seen as it rose this evening in Washington, DC. Today’s full Moon is the first of three consecutive supermoons. Details: https://t.co/GccSiA5Jbb pic.twitter.com/tUPcat13T1
— NASA (@NASA) December 4, 2017
Experts said that a supermoon coincides with a total lunar eclipse occasionally. This occurred in September 2015 and will happen again in October 2033.
The supermoon phenomenon has been associated with greater risks of calamities such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. However, there is no proof of this articulation.
