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Get out, baseball season. No matter the beach season. For lovers of astronomy, this summer marks the season of the supermoon.
On Tuesday night, sky watchers will witness the first of three summer supermoons. A supermoon occurs when the full moon is also closest to Earth in its orbit, known as the perigee. Supermoons look brighter and bigger for us on Earth, providing spectacular night vision if the sky is clear.
The moon will appear full from Sunday night, but will technically reach full light on Tuesday at 7:52 a.m. east. Around 7:24 pm on Tuesday, the moon will be close enough to our Earth to be a supermoon. It will come within 222,238 miles of Earth (about 16,000 miles closer to its average distance) and could be about 7 percent larger and 15 percent brighter than a normal full moon.
While the criteria for the supermoon will be met on Tuesday, the moon will look full and bright in the night sky from Monday to Wednesday. Check timeanddate.com for local moonrise and sunset times.
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This month’s full moon will be the lowest full moon of the year, orbiting just 23.3 degrees above the horizon on Wednesday at 1:56 p.m. east, according to NASA. Binoculars, a telescope or an excellent camera can help you spot craters and mountains on the lunar surface.
While the moon will look bigger and brighter, it will also focus on the low and high tides of the Earth. Studies show that decades of supermoons have been shown to increase the risk of erosion of sandy beaches.
The full moon in June is widely known as the “strawberry” moon, a name given by the Algonquin tribe in the northeastern United States and eastern Canada and describing the region’s short strawberry harvest season. European names include honeymoon and moon rose, referring to the collection of honey and roses that bloom during this time.
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Although supermoons are not extremely rare, they do not happen every month. The full moon occurs every 29.5 days, while the moon falls into perigee every 27 days, overlapping from time to time. The supermoon of June follows another in May. Next month’s full moon, known as Buck’s Moon, will occur on July 13 and will also be a supermoon. The moon will be within 222,089 miles of Earth and is the closest supermoon of the year. The August supermoon will occur around the 12th.
The Strawberry Supermoon is just one exciting celestial event that takes place in June. The summer solstice on June 21 marks the astronomical end of spring and the beginning of summer. On June 24, before dawn, observers in the sky can see the five closest planetary neighbors on Earth for the first time in 18 years.
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