A supermoon is a new or full moon that occurs around the same time as when the Moon is also at the point in its monthly orbit where it closest to Earth.
The Moon makes one full orbit around Earth in about 29.53 days, which means that it reaches its perigee and apogee points about once a month. When this occurs at the same time as a full moon, it’s called a perigee syzygy—or, more commonly, a supermoon!
If you don’t understand these terms, let us explain;
Perigee is the point in the Moon’s orbit where it is closest to Earth.
- Apogee is the point in the Moon’s orbit where it is farthest from Earth.
The term “Syzygy” is used by astrologists when three or more celestial bodies (in this case Sun, the Moon, and Earth) line up. When the Sun, Earth, and Moon form a syzygy, we experience a full or new moon, depending on whether the Moon is between the Sun and Earth or Earth is between the Sun and the Moon.
Richard Nolle used the term “supermoon” for the first time in 1979.
To experience the best of supermoon, it is recommended to experience the Moon Illusion. A Moon down near the horizon will always look enormous, thanks to a well-known phenomenon called the Moon illusion, which makes our minds exaggerate the size of objects near the skyline.
Supermoon of May 2020 will be remembered as “Full Flower Moon”. This will be the last supermoon of 2020.
NASA in an earlier release mentioned “The moon will appear full for about three days around this time, from Tuesday evening through Friday morning.”
Netizens were quick to share photos of supermoon. Below are some of the beautiful pictures shared by users on twitter;
If you have taken photographs of the Full Flower Moon, share it with us and we will post them on our website with your credits.
