August 10, 2014 supermoon, the closest one for that year, via Damian O’Sullivan in Ireland.
On November 14, 2016, the moon will be closer to Earth than it’s been since January 26, 1948. It’ll be a full moon and a supermoon. The moon won’t come this close again until November 25, 2034. That makes upcoming full moon the closest and largest supermoon in a period of 86 years! Here are five things you need to know.
Moon equally awesome on November 13 and 14
Are supermoons hype? No. Here’s what to look for
Supermoons can create super tides
Closest moon nearly always a full moon
Mother and sons watch a 2013 supermoon rise through cloud cover at Tempe Town Lake in Arizona. Photo via Kathleen Kingma. Read more about this image.
Moon equally awesome on November 13 and 14. Here’s the first and most important thing you need to know. Many articles we’ve seen about the coming supermoon say to look for it on November 14. But – for many of us, especially those of us in the Americas – the moon will be equally awesome (if not better) on November 13.
That’s because the moon will reach its closest point for the month (perigee) at 11:23 UTC (6:23 a.m. ET) on November 14.
It’ll reach the crest of its full phase two-and-a-half hours later at 13:52 UTC (8:52 a.m. ET).
See? All along the Eastern Standard Time zone, the moon is closest to being full – and closest to Earth – on the morning of November 14, not the evening. That means that – for all U.S. time zones, including Alaska and Hawaii – the supermoon falls closer to the night of November 13 than November 14. That’s especially true if you are a morning person and plan to observe the supermoon before dawn.
Don’t stress too much about this. The moon will be big and bright both nights! And both nights will be an awesome time to moon-gaze or take photographs.
At right, the August 29, 2015 supermoon at exactly the time (18.36 UT) when it was full. At left, the March 5, 2015 ‘micro-moon’ – smallest full moon of the year. Photos by Peter Lowenstein in Mutare, Zimbabwe.
Are supermoons hype? No. Here’s what to look for The term supermoon is relatively new (read their history here). Before we called them supermoons, we in astronomy called them perigean full moons. Catchy, eh? Well … not so much. Most people ignored these moons until the term supermoon came along.
What’s special about a supermoon? Finely tuned instruments – or composite images – show that a supermoon is indeed closer to Earth and thus bigger than an ordinary full moon. But most of us can’t detect that difference, using just our eyes. Experienced observers, meanwhile, do sometimes say they can detect a size difference between ordinary full moons and a supermoon.
So … why do the rest of us get so excited about these supermoons? Here are two things to notice.
First, for all of us, the brightness of the moon will increase noticeably around supermoon-time. All full moons are bright, but supermoons are substantially and noticeably brighter than ordinary full moons. So … notice the brightness, not the bigness, of the moon on November 13 and 14!
Second, the moon’s gravity affects earthly tides, and a supermoon – full moon closest to Earth – pulls harder than an ordinary full moon. That’s why supermoons create higher-than usual tides. Read on …
Deik Haigler Photography wrote on September 27, 2015: “We almost got stuck out the Marsh Boardwalk when this King High Tide came in over the boardwalk…”
Supermoons can create super tides. Are supermoons hype? Just ask the oceans! All full moons bring larger-than-usual tides, called spring tides. Supermoons bring the highest (and lowest) tides of all.
If you live along a coastline, watch for high tides caused by the November 14 supermoon for a period of several days after November 14. These tides tend to follow the date of full moon by a day or two.
Will the high tides cause flooding? Probably not, unless a strong weather system moves into the coastline where you are. That was the case with the high supermoon tides of September, 2015. That supermoon – combined with an 18.6-year lunar cycle, and a tropical storm – caused high tides and some flooding on both sides of the Atlantic.
So keep an eye on the weather around November 14, if you live along the coast. Storms do have a large potential to accentuate high spring tides, especially those caused by supermoons.
Moon is closest to Earth at perigee and farthest away at apogee. When the full moon aligns with perigee – as it does on November 14, 2016 – it’s a perigee full moon or supermoon. By the way, the moon’s orbit is much closer to being a circle than this diagram suggests! Image via NASA.
Closest moon nearly always a full moon. We wondered … is it the closest moon (in general) since 1948, or the closest full moon? Turns out those two tend to be one and the same.
Because of gravity, and the intriguing interplay of the sun, Earth and moon (and, to a lesser extent, the planets), the closest moon of any given year is often the one that aligns most closely with full moon.
That’s because, for the moon to appear full, the sun, Earth and moon need to be aligned, with Earth in the middle. And, during that particular alignment, the sun pulls most strongly on the moon, bringing it closest.
The diagram below helps to explain why the perigee full moon comes especially close to Earth. Take a careful look. Explanation below.
Image via Bedford Astronomy Club.
Ready to get technical? Read on!
On the diagram above, the line connecting lunar perigee with lunar apogee defines the moon’s major axis (the longest axis of an ellipse).
When the moon’s major axis (apogee-perigee line) points sunward (A & C on the diagram), the eccentricity (flatness) of the moon’s orbit is increased to a maximum. That fact lessens the perigee distance, while increasing the apogee distance.
At A in the diagram, it’s a perigee new moon (supermoon) and an apogee full moon (micro-moon).
Then 3.5 lunar months (some 103 days) later, the major axis is at right angles to the sun-Earth line, so the eccentricity (flatness) is minimal. At such times, the moon’s orbit is closest to circular. At that juncture, it’s a more distant perigee and closer apogee, and that is why first quarter and last quarter moons more or less align with apogee and perigee.
Then 7 lunar months (206 days) later, the major axis again points sunward. This time it’s a full moon perigee and new moon apogee. See C in the diagram.
Super cool super-moonrise composite from Fiona M. Donnelly in Ontario. August, 2014.
Supermoons happen in cycles. Okay, so by now – if you’re a regular EarthSky reader – you’ve figured out that everything in the sky happens in cycles. The supermoon is no exception.
Closest full moons tend to recur in cycles of 14 lunar (synodic) months, because 14 lunar months almost exactly equal 15 returns to perigee (moon’s closest point to Earth).
This time period is equal to about 1 year, 1 month, and 18 days.
Hence, the full moon and perigee will realign again on January 2, 2018, because the 14th full moon after the November 14, 2016 full moon will fall on that date.
Dates for closest/farthest new/full moons in 2016:
April 7: closest new moon
April 22: farthest full moon:Seven lunar months later:
October 30: farthest new moon
November 14: closest full moon
Moon closest to Earth
| Year | Date | Distance |
| 2011 | March 19 | 356,575 km |
| 2012 | May 6 | 356,955 km |
| 2013 | June 23 | 356,991 km |
| 2014 | August 10 | 356,896 km |
| 2015 | September 28 | 356,877 km |
| 2016 | November 14 | 356,509 km |
Looking further into the future, the perigee full moon will come closer than 356,500 kilometers for the first time in the 21st century (2001-2100) on November 25, 2034 (356,446 km). The closest full moon of the 21st century will fall on December 6, 2052 (356,425 km).
For the moon to come closer than 356,400 kilometers (221,457 miles) is quite a feat. In fact, this won’t happen at all in the 21st century (2001-2100) or the 22nd century (2101-2200). The last time the full moon perigee swung this close to Earth was on January 14, 1930 (356,397 km), and the next time won’t be till January 1, 2257 (356,371 km).
Supermoons happen every year. Supermoon and shipwreck – August 10, 2014 – by Damian McCudden.
Bottom line: Enjoy the November 14, 2016 supermoon. Don’t forget to watch for it on November 13 as well, especially if you live in the Americas. Two things to watch for: the moon’s brightness, and especially high tides in the days following the full moon.
from EarthSky http://ift.tt/2eGdQpR
August 10, 2014 supermoon, the closest one for that year, via Damian O’Sullivan in Ireland.
On November 14, 2016, the moon will be closer to Earth than it’s been since January 26, 1948. It’ll be a full moon and a supermoon. The moon won’t come this close again until November 25, 2034. That makes upcoming full moon the closest and largest supermoon in a period of 86 years! Here are five things you need to know.
Moon equally awesome on November 13 and 14
Are supermoons hype? No. Here’s what to look for
Supermoons can create super tides
Closest moon nearly always a full moon
Mother and sons watch a 2013 supermoon rise through cloud cover at Tempe Town Lake in Arizona. Photo via Kathleen Kingma. Read more about this image.
Moon equally awesome on November 13 and 14. Here’s the first and most important thing you need to know. Many articles we’ve seen about the coming supermoon say to look for it on November 14. But – for many of us, especially those of us in the Americas – the moon will be equally awesome (if not better) on November 13.
That’s because the moon will reach its closest point for the month (perigee) at 11:23 UTC (6:23 a.m. ET) on November 14.
It’ll reach the crest of its full phase two-and-a-half hours later at 13:52 UTC (8:52 a.m. ET).
See? All along the Eastern Standard Time zone, the moon is closest to being full – and closest to Earth – on the morning of November 14, not the evening. That means that – for all U.S. time zones, including Alaska and Hawaii – the supermoon falls closer to the night of November 13 than November 14. That’s especially true if you are a morning person and plan to observe the supermoon before dawn.
Don’t stress too much about this. The moon will be big and bright both nights! And both nights will be an awesome time to moon-gaze or take photographs.
At right, the August 29, 2015 supermoon at exactly the time (18.36 UT) when it was full. At left, the March 5, 2015 ‘micro-moon’ – smallest full moon of the year. Photos by Peter Lowenstein in Mutare, Zimbabwe.
Are supermoons hype? No. Here’s what to look for The term supermoon is relatively new (read their history here). Before we called them supermoons, we in astronomy called them perigean full moons. Catchy, eh? Well … not so much. Most people ignored these moons until the term supermoon came along.
What’s special about a supermoon? Finely tuned instruments – or composite images – show that a supermoon is indeed closer to Earth and thus bigger than an ordinary full moon. But most of us can’t detect that difference, using just our eyes. Experienced observers, meanwhile, do sometimes say they can detect a size difference between ordinary full moons and a supermoon.
So … why do the rest of us get so excited about these supermoons? Here are two things to notice.
First, for all of us, the brightness of the moon will increase noticeably around supermoon-time. All full moons are bright, but supermoons are substantially and noticeably brighter than ordinary full moons. So … notice the brightness, not the bigness, of the moon on November 13 and 14!
Second, the moon’s gravity affects earthly tides, and a supermoon – full moon closest to Earth – pulls harder than an ordinary full moon. That’s why supermoons create higher-than usual tides. Read on …
Deik Haigler Photography wrote on September 27, 2015: “We almost got stuck out the Marsh Boardwalk when this King High Tide came in over the boardwalk…”
Supermoons can create super tides. Are supermoons hype? Just ask the oceans! All full moons bring larger-than-usual tides, called spring tides. Supermoons bring the highest (and lowest) tides of all.
If you live along a coastline, watch for high tides caused by the November 14 supermoon for a period of several days after November 14. These tides tend to follow the date of full moon by a day or two.
Will the high tides cause flooding? Probably not, unless a strong weather system moves into the coastline where you are. That was the case with the high supermoon tides of September, 2015. That supermoon – combined with an 18.6-year lunar cycle, and a tropical storm – caused high tides and some flooding on both sides of the Atlantic.
So keep an eye on the weather around November 14, if you live along the coast. Storms do have a large potential to accentuate high spring tides, especially those caused by supermoons.
Moon is closest to Earth at perigee and farthest away at apogee. When the full moon aligns with perigee – as it does on November 14, 2016 – it’s a perigee full moon or supermoon. By the way, the moon’s orbit is much closer to being a circle than this diagram suggests! Image via NASA.
Closest moon nearly always a full moon. We wondered … is it the closest moon (in general) since 1948, or the closest full moon? Turns out those two tend to be one and the same.
Because of gravity, and the intriguing interplay of the sun, Earth and moon (and, to a lesser extent, the planets), the closest moon of any given year is often the one that aligns most closely with full moon.
That’s because, for the moon to appear full, the sun, Earth and moon need to be aligned, with Earth in the middle. And, during that particular alignment, the sun pulls most strongly on the moon, bringing it closest.
The diagram below helps to explain why the perigee full moon comes especially close to Earth. Take a careful look. Explanation below.
Image via Bedford Astronomy Club.
Ready to get technical? Read on!
On the diagram above, the line connecting lunar perigee with lunar apogee defines the moon’s major axis (the longest axis of an ellipse).
When the moon’s major axis (apogee-perigee line) points sunward (A & C on the diagram), the eccentricity (flatness) of the moon’s orbit is increased to a maximum. That fact lessens the perigee distance, while increasing the apogee distance.
At A in the diagram, it’s a perigee new moon (supermoon) and an apogee full moon (micro-moon).
Then 3.5 lunar months (some 103 days) later, the major axis is at right angles to the sun-Earth line, so the eccentricity (flatness) is minimal. At such times, the moon’s orbit is closest to circular. At that juncture, it’s a more distant perigee and closer apogee, and that is why first quarter and last quarter moons more or less align with apogee and perigee.
Then 7 lunar months (206 days) later, the major axis again points sunward. This time it’s a full moon perigee and new moon apogee. See C in the diagram.
Super cool super-moonrise composite from Fiona M. Donnelly in Ontario. August, 2014.
Supermoons happen in cycles. Okay, so by now – if you’re a regular EarthSky reader – you’ve figured out that everything in the sky happens in cycles. The supermoon is no exception.
Closest full moons tend to recur in cycles of 14 lunar (synodic) months, because 14 lunar months almost exactly equal 15 returns to perigee (moon’s closest point to Earth).
This time period is equal to about 1 year, 1 month, and 18 days.
Hence, the full moon and perigee will realign again on January 2, 2018, because the 14th full moon after the November 14, 2016 full moon will fall on that date.
Dates for closest/farthest new/full moons in 2016:
April 7: closest new moon
April 22: farthest full moon:Seven lunar months later:
October 30: farthest new moon
November 14: closest full moon
Moon closest to Earth
| Year | Date | Distance |
| 2011 | March 19 | 356,575 km |
| 2012 | May 6 | 356,955 km |
| 2013 | June 23 | 356,991 km |
| 2014 | August 10 | 356,896 km |
| 2015 | September 28 | 356,877 km |
| 2016 | November 14 | 356,509 km |
Looking further into the future, the perigee full moon will come closer than 356,500 kilometers for the first time in the 21st century (2001-2100) on November 25, 2034 (356,446 km). The closest full moon of the 21st century will fall on December 6, 2052 (356,425 km).
For the moon to come closer than 356,400 kilometers (221,457 miles) is quite a feat. In fact, this won’t happen at all in the 21st century (2001-2100) or the 22nd century (2101-2200). The last time the full moon perigee swung this close to Earth was on January 14, 1930 (356,397 km), and the next time won’t be till January 1, 2257 (356,371 km).
Supermoons happen every year. Supermoon and shipwreck – August 10, 2014 – by Damian McCudden.
Bottom line: Enjoy the November 14, 2016 supermoon. Don’t forget to watch for it on November 13 as well, especially if you live in the Americas. Two things to watch for: the moon’s brightness, and especially high tides in the days following the full moon.
from EarthSky http://ift.tt/2eGdQpR
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