[ad_1]
The last Supermoon of the year will light up the night sky this week.
Nicknamed the Flower Moon, it will be bigger and brighter on Wednesday night, but it will also look huge tonight.
NASA explained on its website: “The next full Moon will be on Thursday morning, May 7, 2020, appearing in front of the Sun (at Earth’s longitude) at 6:45 am EDT.”
This is equivalent to 10:45 pm GMT for watches in the UK.
The space agency continued: “The Moon will appear full for about three days around this time, from Tuesday night to Friday morning.”
On Wednesday night, weather permitting, it’s still probably your best bet to see Flower Moon in all its glory.
This is because when it peaks in the early hours of Thursday morning, it will be low on the horizon and difficult to detect.
The full moon in May will be the third closest Supermoon of the year.
This means that it will also be the third largest.
This month’s full moon is called the flower moon because it means spring.
NASA explains, “According to the seasons, such as the second full moon of spring, Native American tribes in the northeastern United States called it the Flower Moon, as flowers abound at this time of year in most these areas. “
Full moons occur when the Moon is on the opposite side of Earth from the Sun.
This results in the lunar surface being fully illuminated.
A Super Moon occurs when a full Moon reaches perigee, which is the point in the Moon’s orbit when it is closest to Earth.
The opposite of perigee is apogee and when the moon reaches this point it will look much smaller than usual.
What is a supermoon?
A Supermoon appears when a full Moon aligns with the closest point to Earth during its elliptical orbit.
During this time, it looks 14% bigger and 30% brighter than usual.
It was not until 1979 that Richard Nolle first defined the Supermoon, which is now a widely used term.
The astrologer explained that the phenomenon is “a new or full Moon that occurs with the Moon at or near (within 90% of) its closest approach to Earth in a given orbit.”
According to Nolle’s theory, the moon would have to be about 226,000 miles from Earth to be considered “super”.
Due to its relatively close proximity to Earth, the surface of the celestial body appears much larger when a Supermoon occurs.
The different types of moons.
These are some of the most interesting moon phases and when to see them …
A blue Moon It refers to the occasion when a full moon appears for the second time in the same month, this is very rare and the next Blue Moon should occur on Halloween in 2020.
the Harvest Moon It appears around the time of the autumn equinox when farmers tend to do their main harvest.
A Large moon it appears when it is at its closest point to Earth and, therefore, at its brightest point, the next one will appear in September.
A blood Moon occurs during a total lunar eclipse, the following should occur in May 2020.
Each month of the year actually has its own special full moon phenomenon, they are as follows:
- January: Wolf Moon
- February: snow moon
- March: Luna Worm
- April: pink moon
- May: flower moon
- June: strawberry moon
- July: Buck Moon
- August: sturgeon moon
- September: full moon of corn
- October: hunter’s moon
- November: Beaver Moon
- December: cold moon.
In other space news, the ‘world A clearer picture of the Moon’s craters has been revealed.
NASA has a list of 22 asteroids that could hit Earth.
And, Elon Musk has plans to make his Starlink satellites “invisible to the naked eye.”
Are you a fan of stargazing? Let us know in the comments …
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science team? Email us at [email protected]
[ad_2]