In Two Weeks, World Will See The Biggest Moon It Has Seen Since 1948 And We¡¯re Just Way Too Excited
This November, the moon will be closest to Earth it has been since January 1948.
If you¡¯re the kind who loves to gawk at the glistening sky every night then November 2016 will be the best month of your remaining year.
This November, the moon will be closest to Earth it has been since January 1948. This event will occur on the evening of 14th of November, and this is the closest the Moon will get to Earth until 25 November 2034.
The moon will appear up to 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than an average full moon.
November brings meteor displays, dazzling planets, and plenty more reasons to look up at the night sky https://t.co/CK6ddUDmX9
¡ª National Geographic (@NatGeo) November 1, 2016
the November 14th supermoon will be the closest to Earth it¡¯s been since January 1948 & the closest until 2034 https://t.co/fWohfzxhuy
¡ª venus arbright (@moonlightcougar) November 2, 2016
Where to see November's supermoon, the biggest in nearly 70 years https://t.co/SAPX5uOY8m pic.twitter.com/8RotVmSYCV
¡ª Cond¨¦ Nast Traveler (@CNTraveler) November 2, 2016
But how is this possible?
NASA explains this rare phenomenon as elliptical orbit, where one side - called the perigee - is about 48,280 km (30,000 miles) closer to Earth than the other side (the apogee).
As we all know, when the Sun-Moon-Earth line up together in one line as the moon orbits Earth, it is known as syzygy.
abcnews
When this Earth-Moon-Sun system occurs on the perigee side of the Moon facing us, and the Moon happens to be on the opposite side of Earth from the Sun, we get what¡¯s called a perigee-syzygy.
This causes the Moon to appear bigger and brighter.
The last supermoon we had was on October 16th and after the November 14th, we will have another one in December. But because the November 14 Moon becomes full within about 2 hours of perigee, it¡¯s going to look the biggest it has in nearly seven decades.
"The full moon of November 14 is not only the closest full moon of 2016 but also the closest full moon to date in the 21st century," says NASA. "The full moon won¡¯t come this close to Earth again until 25 November 2034."
Furthermore, if you view this moon from a particular spot¡ªcloser to the horizon, it will create moon-illusion.
"When the moon is near the horizon, it can look unnaturally large when viewed through trees, buildings, or other foreground objects," says NASA. "The effect is an optical illusion, but that fact doesn¡¯t take away from the experience."
Something like this:
From tonight's #fullmoon in #Seattle : Super Moon? What #supermoon ...? pic.twitter.com/IgAGcomAst
¡ª Tim Durkan (@timdurkan) July 13, 2014
¡°#SuperMoon rising tonight in #NYC.¡±
¡ª EverythingNYC (@EverythingNYC) July 13, 2014
¡ª @isardasorensen pic.twitter.com/IcHFflmHDd
Gear up for the majestic sky!
