Supermoon puts on a show around the world

Supermoon puts on a show around the world

The unusually big and bright moon happens when the Earth s satellite rock is full at the same time as, or very near, perigee -- its closest point to our planet on its monthly ellipsis-shaped orbit.

Source: Huffington Post UK

At a distance of 356,509 kilometers (221,524 miles), this is the closest it has been to Earth since 1948, creating what NASA described as "an extra-supermoon."

Since the moon’s orbit is elliptical, one side (perigee) is about 30,000 miles (50,000 km) closer to Earth than the other (apogee). The word syzygy, in addition to being useful in word games, is the scientific name for when the Earth, sun, and moon line up as the moon orbits Earth. When perigee-syzygy of the Earth-moon-sun system occurs and the moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the sun, we get a perigee moon or more commonly, a supermoon!

This coincidence happens three times in 2016. On October 16 and December 14, the moon becomes full on the same day as perigee. On November 14, it becomes full within about two hours of perigee—arguably making it an extra-super moon.

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. The full moon won’t come this close to Earth again until November 25, 2034.

The supermoon of December 14 is remarkable for a different reason: it’s going to wipe out the view of the Geminid meteor shower. Bright moonlight will reduce the visibility of faint meteors five to ten fold, transforming the usually fantastic Geminids into an astronomical footnote. Sky watchers will be lucky to see a dozen Geminids per hour when the shower peaks. Oh well, at least the moon will be remarkable.

How remarkable?

"It´s really nice," Aidan Millar-Powell told AFP of the festive, community atmosphere at the beach. "People don´t usually come together like this in Sydney for a natural phenomenon."

Tourists, office workers and couples crowded the Hong Kong waterfront as the supersized moon rose over the skyscrapers of the financial hub, while further north in the Chinese capital Beijing the moon climbed spectacularly over the city´s skyline.

"I´ve never seen a moon this big," said Lee Pak-kan, 44, who was watching at the Hong Kong waterfront. "The moon is quite orange too... it´s quite special."

In the Taiwanese capital Taipei, more than 100 people queued up to get a look at the spectacle through telescopes outside a major public hall, while others flocked to the city´s landmark Taipei 101 skyscraper -- one of the world´s tallest buildings -- to witness the supermoon.

"It´s quite moving, to see it up close. It´s so big, so round, so bright," said Julia Lee, who was peering through a telescope outside the hall.

´More super than others´

The supermoon was visible across much of India although residents of New Delhi, the world´s most polluted capital, struggled to see it clearly through the toxic smog that has been shrouding the city in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, professional astronomers were at the ready at observatories across the region to explain the phenomenon to curious members of the public.

In Thailand, astrologers were variously predicting the supermoon would bring disaster or great fortune.

Soraja Nuan-yoo, renowned for predicting the 2004 tsunami that killed many in Thailand and other countries round the Indian Ocean, warned that when the moon gets close to the Earth, "natural disasters happen".

The supermoon also means a stronger high tide, something that gets surfers giddy with excitement, not only at the prospect of riding bigger waves, but doing so at night.

Forecasters had predicted higher than usual tides on Indonesia´s Bali, a favourite with surfers.

But the holiday island was overcast and rainy when the moon rose, with surfers deciding not to take to the waters.

A supermoon, or perigee full moon can be as much as 14% bigger and 30% brighter than an apogee full moon. However it's not always easy to tell the difference. A 30% difference in brightness can easily be masked by clouds or the competing glare of urban lights. Also, there are no rulers floating in the sky to measure lunar diameters. Hanging high overhead with no reference points to provide a sense of scale, one full moon looks much like any other.