We are currently enjoying a "season" with 3 super full moons: March 9, April 7-8, and May 7, 2020. Then we will have the “season” with 3 super new moons on September 17th, October 16th, and November 15th, 2020. Get restless! supermoon is here.
Happy "Super Moon Day"! This awesome photo of the moon comes from EarthSky Facebook friend Rebecca Lacey of Cambridge, Idaho.
A supermoon is a new or full moon that coincides with perigee, the point in the moon's orbit that is closest to the Earth each month. According to the original definition of a supermoon (coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979), a full or new moon must be within 90 percent of its closest approach to Earth to be called a supermoon. In other words, according to Noll's original and broad view, any full or new moon within 224,865 miles or 361,885 kilometers (or less) of Earth, measured from the center of the moon to the center of the Earth, can be called a supermoon . That's why, you're likely to hear about many supermoons throughout the year.
We derive "90% of the distance between the moon and the earth" based on the closest perigee of the year (the point where the moon is closest to the earth that year) and the farthest apogee of the year (the point where the moon is furthest from the earth that year). In 2020, closest perigee was 221,772 miles (356,907 kilometers). The furthest apogee is 252,707 miles (406,692 kilometers). So, calculated this way, any full or new moon that is less than 224,865 miles (361,885 kilometers) away from the center of the Earth and the center of the moon counts as a 2020 supermoon.
Super Full Moon:
March 9, 2000: 222,081 miles (357,404 km)
April 7-8, 2020: 221,851 miles (357,035 km)
May 7, 2020: 224,429 miles (361,184 km)
these are super The second full moon, the super full moon of April 7-8, 2020 is the most recent in 2020. The April 2020 Full Moon will be closer to the Moon's perigee (the Moon's closest point to Earth in its monthly orbit) than all other Full Moons in 2020.
Perigee on April 7, 2020 at 18:08 UTC: 221,772 miles (356,907 km)
Full Moon on April 8, 2020 at 2:35 UTC: 221,851 miles (357,035 km)
Of course, the closest Also the largest full moon will cause larger-than-usual perigee spring tides, which people living in coastal areas are sure to see and talk about.
By the way, the most distant and smallest full moon of the year will be on October 31, 2020. Sometimes called a micromoon, it will be 252,380 miles (406,166 kilometers) from Earth. That's a distance of 30,529 miles (49,131 kilometers) from the year's closest, largest full moon, which fell on April 8, 2020.
New moon supermoon distances:
March 9, 2000, 222,081 miles (357,404 kilometers),
April 7-8, 2020, 221,851 miles (357,035 kilometers)
May 7, 2020, 224,429 miles (361184 kilometers)
The second super moon will be on the night of April 7 to 8, 2020. This is the closest super moon to the earth in 2020. The full moon on that day is the same as the moon's perigee (the point in the moon's orbit closest to the earth). ) will be more coupled to it than any full moon will be at any time in 2020. The moon's perigee will be at 18:08 standard time on April 7, 2020, and will be 221,772 miles (356,907 kilometers) from the earth. The full moon will be on April 8, 2020, standard time, and will be 221,851 miles (357,035 kilometers) from the earth. The full moon, which is closest to the earth and appears to be the largest, will produce larger than usual perigee tides, and people along the coast will enjoy a visual feast and relish it.
At the same time, this year's farthest and smallest full moon (also known as a mini full moon, 3,525,380 miles (406,166 kilometers) from Earth) will appear on October 31, 2020, which will be more visible than this year's closest to Earth. 30,529 miles (49,131 kilometers) away.
New Moon in standard time: September 17, 2020, 223,828 miles (360,216 kilometers)
Moon's perigee in standard time: November 15, 2020, 222,666 miles (358,347 kilometers)
You can't see the new moon in the sky . It is more or less between the Sun and the Earth, and moves across the sky with the Sun during the day. This is a beautiful photo taken by Thierry Legault at the moment of the new moon (UTC, July 8, 2013).
Some astronomers complain about the name "supermoon" and would rather call it a supermoon hype. But supermoons aren't hype, they're special. Many people are now starting to know and quote the term supermoon, and we even find some die-hards starting to quote it. This is a custom, and before we call it a supermoon, we astronomers call these phenomena full moons at perigee of the moon or new moons at perigee. Perigee means the closest point to the Earth.
There is a full moon once a month, with the moon facing the earth and the sun, and a new moon once a month, with the moon between the earth and the sun. When the moon orbits the earth every month, it reaches its closest position to the earth, which is also called perihelion. The moon also moves to its furthest point from the earth every month, a point called apogee.
There is no doubt that the name "supermoon" is more eye-catching than the near-Earth new moon or the near-Earth full moon. Perhaps that's why "supermoons" have become integrated into popular culture. For example, Super Moon is the title track of Sophia’s 2015 album, it’s a great song, please click on the player below to listen.
In the picture above, Peter Lowenstein superimposed a small moon (full moon at apogee, the month farthest from the earth) on a new moon near perigee (the month closest to the earth) (the full moon is covered by the light of the earth) ). This size difference is similar in proportion to the difference between a U.S. quarter and a U.S. nickel.
Also, Earth's oceans will feel the extra gravitational pull of the supermoon. All full moons (and new moons) combine with the sun to create larger than normal tides, called spring tides. However, a closer-than-average full moon (or a closer-than-average new moon) - a supermoon - will make the tides higher. These super high spring tides are widespread. The highs are extremely high and the lows on the same day are extremely low. Experts say these perigee tides mark the approach of the moon. If you live near the coast, beware! They usually arrive a day or two after a supermoon.
Will the super high tides caused by the super moon cause floods? Maybe, maybe not. Flooding often occurs when strong weather systems are accompanied by particularly high spring tides.
The difference between high and low tides is greatest around each new moon (left) and full moon (right) (when the Sun, Earth and Moon are more or less aligned). This is called a spring tide. Supermoons (new or full moons closest to Earth) intensify these tides. (Image source: physicalgeography)
About 3 or 4 times a year, or more, a new or full moon happens to coincide with the moon's perigee. There is usually only a small difference between the size of a "perigee king tide" and a normal tide, often just a few inches (or centimeters). However, during these times, if a storm moves along the coastline, flooding is possible. (Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA))
How often does a super moon appear?
often! Of course it depends on your definition of a supermoon.The following is a list of the closest supermoon perigees from 2010 to 2020 (perigee is less than 357,000 kilometers (221,830 miles) from the earth)
January 30, 2010, 356593 kilometers (221577 miles)
March 19, 2011, 356575 kilometers (221565 miles)
May 6, 2012, 356,955 kilometers (221,802 miles)
June 23, 2013, 356,991 kilometers (221,824 miles)
August 10, 2014, 356,896 kilometers (221,765 miles)
September 28, 2015, 356,877 kilometers (221,753 miles)
November 14, 2016, 356509 kilometers (221524 miles)
January 2, 2018, 356565 kilometers (221559 miles)
February 19, 2019, 356761 kilometers (221681 miles)
April 8, 2020, 356907 kilometers (221,772 miles)
There is no perigee in 2017 (we define perigee as less than 357,000 kilometers or 221,830 miles from Earth). The perigee and superperigee of the full moon coincided on November 14, 2016, and the next coincidence will be on January 1 and 2, 2018.
Looking into the future, on November 25, 2034 in the 21st century (2001 to 2100) , the full moon will break through 356,500 kilometers (221,519 miles) for the first time and is 356,446 kilometers (221,485 miles) from Earth. The closest full moon to Earth in the 21st century (356,425 kilometers (221,472 miles)) will occur on December 6, 2052.
Also some astronomers refer to the full moons listed above as super-Earth full moons.
But like many of you, we also like to call it a "supermoon."
The total lunar eclipse process of the first super moon in 2019 (January 21). Here's Dennis Schoenfelder from Alamosa, Colorado's wonderful time-lapse image of that lunar eclipse, one frame every three minutes. Thanks, Dennis!
So, how close are these full and new moons? This year, 2020, the nearest moon is 221,772 miles (356,907 kilometers) from Earth. At this point, we say the moon is at 100% of its closest position.
In 2020, the Moon's farthest distance is 252,707 miles (406,692 kilometers). At this time, we say that the Moon is at 0% of its closest position.
The Moon is approximately 30,000 miles (50,000 kilometers) closer during the year when it is at its closest than when it is at its farthest.
Super Moon Cycle
The 2020 Super Full Moon sequence will reoccur after 14 synodic months (14 return full moons). This is because 14 full moon returns are almost exactly equal to 15 perigee returns. This cycle is approximately 1 year, 1 month and 18 days.
The average synodic month (full moon to full moon, or new moon to new moon) = 29.53059 days, and the average periapical month (from perigee to perigee, or apogee to apogee) = 27.55455 days.
So: 14 synodic months (14 returns to full moon) x 29.53059 days = 413.428 days. 15 perigee months (15 return to lunar perigee) x 27.55455 days = 413.318 days
Given that supermoons recur with a cycle of 413 days (approximately 1 year, 1 month and 18 days), we can expect a supermoon to be in the next year, That is, it will appear one month and 18 days after 2021.
Full Moon Distance (April 27, 2021): 222,212 miles (357,615 kilometers)
Full Moon Distance (May 26, 2021): 222,117 miles (357,462 kilometers)
Full Moon Distance (June 24, 2021): 224,662 miles (36 The 1,558 km
Super Crescent series will also occur again 14 months after the synodic moon (14 return new moons). Therefore, we will have super new moons on November 4, 2021, and December 4, 2021, as well as January 2, 2022.
This is Muzamir Mazlan of the Teluk Kemang Observatory in Port Dickson, Malaysia, of the December 3, 2017 full moon at perigee (closest to Earth this month) and June 2017 apogee (this month A comparison between the farthest full moons of the year (farthest from Earth).
IMPORTANT NOTE: The full moons in March, April and May 2020 are supermoons. The super new moons of 2020 will be the new moons in September, October and November. The most recent and brightest super full moon of the year is April 7-8, 2020.
