Why is the moon so bright tonight?
A FULL “Snow” Supermoon will illuminate the sky this weekend in what is an astronomical treat, shining big and bright as it glimpses through the cloud this evening.
It is the first Supermoon of the decade and could be the biggest and brightest of the year.
Why is the moon so bright tonight?
The February Supermoon is the first of four similar events set to take place in 2020, and the first to occur since last March.
The natural phenomenon is also dubbed the Snow Moon, as it often coincides with heavy snowfall, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac.
It was also traditionally named the Hunger Moon due to the challenging hunting conditions at this time of year.
Astronomers in the UK predict the Supermoon will rise at around 15:50 GMT on Saturday, February 8, and be visible throughout the night until 07:55 on Sunday, before rising again at 17:15.
Unfortunately, when viewed from the UK, the will peak for only around 20 minutes before it sets for the day.
But a livestream hosted from the historic city of Rome means stargazers will have a chance to see the Supermoon in all its glory without having to wake up too early.
The Moon will appear full for about three days around this time, from Friday evening to Monday morning, making this a Full Supermoon weekend.
However, the arrival of Storm Ciara may affect viewing conditions for people in the UK, with the Met Office forecasting cloud and rain across most of the country on Sunday morning.
What is a Supermoon?
A Supermoon occurs when the full moon nearly coincides with perigee – the closest that the Moon comes to the Earth in its elliptic orbit, 361,885km or less.
This means it appears up to 14 per cent larger and 30 per cent brighter than normal, when viewed from Earth.
The full moon on February 9, 2020, almost coincides with the perigee on February 10, making it the fourth-closest, and therefore the fourth-largest, full moon of 2020.
NASA explains that “Supermoon is actually just a nickname for what astronomers call a perigean full Moon – a Moon that is full and at its closest point in its orbit around Earth”.
The term was created by astrologer Richard Nolle.
Because they occur every 29 and-a-half days, there are sometimes 13 a year – as there are in 2020.
Each month’s Full Moon has a special name.
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This is because Native American tribes kept track of the months of the year by the lunar calendar.
February 19 will see the second lunar spectacle in a Supermoon trilogy.
The first Supermoon was the “Blood Wolf Super Moon” on January 21 and the third will take place on March 21.
On February 19, the moon will be 221,734 miles from Earth.
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