BENGALURU: Tonight will be the first supermoon in a series of supermoons to last till September.
The next four full moons that will be seen in the sky will be supermoons. These can be viewed on July 3, August 1, August 31, and September 29.
“A supermoon is when the moon appears larger than normal on a full moon day. The moon does not appear the same size in all full moons. Meanwhile, micro moons appear smaller. This is because the moon is not always at the same distance from the Earth,” said Dr A P Bhat, a physics professor at the Poornaprajna College, Udupi, as well as founder and coordinator of the Poornaprajna Amateur Astronomers Club (PAAC).
He explains that as the Moon orbits the Earth in an elliptical orbit, there are certain points where it is at its farthest (apogee) and closest (perigee) in relation to the Earth. “The average distance of the lunar lands is 3,84,400 km. At its perigee, it is 3,56,000 km away from the Earth and at the apogee, it is at 4,06,000 km. It is a natural phenomenon that an object appears larger when it is near and smaller as it moves away,” he said.
On the day of the supermoon, he said, the moon is nearly 30,000 km closer to the Earth, making it look larger and brighter than the average moon. Due to the closeness of the supermoon, various things that rely on the moon also change. “The attraction of the moon is also the reason for the ebb and flow of the sea. Hence, during supermoons, the noise from the sea waves is higher as the waves themselves tend to be higher than usual,” he said.