The biggest Supermoon in decades is coming

The full moon of November 14 – also called the supermoon – is predicted to be not only the biggest, closest and brightest supermoon of the year, it’s the closest supermoon since January 26, 1948.

A supermoon is a full or New Moon that occurs when the moon is less than 360,000 kilometres from the centre of Earth.

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

Watch for higher than usual tides caused by the supermoon.

The moon will look full and bright all night long on both nights November 13 and 14.

But the November supermoon is special because it will be “the closest full moon to date in the 21st century,” according to NASA.

The best time to view the Supermoon would be with moonrise between 6.30 and 7.30pm.

#supermoon
City of Cape Town pic.twitter.com/Trm035TyTn

— Kyle Mijlof (@KMijlof) October 16, 2016

The term supermoon (not a official astronomical name) was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979 in an article for Horoscope magazine.

The astronomical community favours the name perigee-syzygy, or perigee moon.

The word syzygy describes when the Earth, Sun, and Moon line up as the Moon orbits Earth, while perigee is the point on the Moon’s orbit nearest to Earth.

Perigee syzygy occurs as the Moon orbits close to Earth and the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun.

Supermoons can be as much as 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter than a full moon at its furthest orbital point.

But it is not always easy to tell the difference.

This is due to weather and perception.

Firstly, a 30 per cent difference in brightness can easily be masked by clouds or the competing glare of urban lights, so the sky must be clear for people to see the full effect of it.

Secondly, one full moon can look much like any other, NASA said.

November’s full moon is also called the Beaver Moon because it arrives at the time of year (in the Northern Hemisphere) when hunters would set traps before the waters froze over, to ensure they had enough warm furs for the winter.

#Supermoon rising over the #Joburg skyline. This was sooooooo beautiful! pic.twitter.com/imIls4EHFj

— Dimakatso Dlamini (@DimaDlamini) December 1, 2013

https://twitter.com/SouthrnComfort6/status/348885599031279618

Competition!

If you are planning to view the Supermoon on 14 November, remember to send us your pics to news@northcoastcourier.co.za. The best photo will be published in next week’s North Coast Courier.

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