Supermoons can appear up to 14% larger and 30% brighter than a Micro Full Moon. They often create a visually striking sight, especially when they coincide with events such as moonrises or moonset, and we’re getting set to have two of them in a row!
So what makes a supermoon super? A supermoon occurs when the Moon is at or near its closest point to Earth in its elliptical orbit, known as the perigee. Because the Moon's orbit is not a perfect circle, its distance from Earth varies throughout the month. When a Full Moon coincides with the perigee, the Moon appears larger and brighter than usual in the night sky.
It's worth noting that while supermoons are visually impressive, the differences in size and brightness may be challenging for the average observer to perceive. Nevertheless, supermoons provide an excellent opportunity for photographers and enthusiasts to capture stunning lunar photographs.
The two upcoming supermoons will be on August 1 and August 30. On August 30 we will see the closest supermoon this year - only 222,043 miles (357,344 km) from Earth. To make it even more super - it also happens to be a Blue Moon! Some sources include two additional supermoons on July 2 and September 28, but the definition Slooh uses doesn’t classify these as supermoons.
LIVE SUPERMOON STAR PARTY
Slooh will be broadcasting a live Star Party on Wednesday, August 30, at 8 PM EDT (00:00UTC) with commentary and live telescope streams of the blue supermoon! Everyone can watch on Slooh’s social channels, and members can interact with Slooh’s experts and capture images from the live telescope feeds!