What Is A Supermoon?
A supermoon is the coincidence of a full moon or a new moon with the closest approach the Moon makes to the Earth on its elliptical orbit, resulting in the largest apparent size of the lunar disk as seen from Earth. The technical name is the perigee-syzygy of the Earth–Moon–Sun system. The association of the Moon with both oceanic and crustal tides has led to claims that the supermoon phenomenon may be associated with increased risk of events such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, but there is no evidence of such a link.
The term supermoon is not astronomical, but originated in modern astrology. The term supermoon is a relatively new term that has made its way into pop culture to describe a full moon that falls near or on perigee, the point in the moon’s orbit where it is closest to the Earth. Even though it is an astronomical event, the term originated from an astrologer named Richard Nolle.
The full moon of Dec. 13 takes place when the moon is at its closest point of approach in its orbit around Earth — a so-called supermoon. The full moon will be at perigee causing it to look brighter and slightly larger than a usual full moon. This is the third straight month where the full moon can be considered a 'supermoon." Let us know more about this.
Final Supermoon 2016 On December 12
International Business Times reported that the waxing gibbous moon or nearly full moon will reach its closest point to Earth in its monthly cycle, at a distance of only 222,738 miles at 1:25 pm Eastern Time (ET) (18:27 Universal Time Coordinated (UTC)) on Dec. 12. The moon will officially reach its full phase at 2:06 pm ET (19:06 UTC) on Dec. 13. What can we expect from the supermoon season?
What To Expect On December 12 'Full Cold Moon'?
There are many things to expect on the Supermoon season. The red giant star Aldebaran, part of the constellation Taurus, can be spotted near the moon using binoculars or telescopes. At 11:13 pm ET (4:05 UTC), skywatchers from North America and Western Europe can see Aldebaran briefly eclipsed by the moon.
The annual Geminid shower will happen on Dec. 13 in America. The Geminids can produce as much as 60 to 120 shooting stars an hour at peak times. The views of the meteor shower are expected to be good on the nights before and after the peak. The brightest shooting stars will still be visible even with the presence of the supermoon during that time.
The moon will point to the famous Beehive star cluster in the constellation Cancer on December 16. Beehive is one of the nearest open clusters to the Solar System. It has a larger star population than most other nearby clusters. The Beehive cluster is like a nebulous object to the naked eye under dark skies.
