Credit: Sydney Morning Herald
The Moon's orbit around the Earth is not a circle, but an ellipse. Its closest approach (perigee) is 363,104 km (225,623 miles). That's 42,592 km (26,467 miles) closer than at the furthest distance (apogee), 384,400 km (238,855 miles).1
A Supermoon occurs when there is a full Moon at perigee, which causes the Moon to appear 14% larger & 30% brighter. Tonight, the Moon will be the closest it has been to Earth since 26 January 1948 – & it will be a full Moon – the biggest Supermoon in nearly 70 years – next comparable Supermoon won't appear until 25 November, 2034.
Best times to see today's Supermoon:
Sydney from 7.07pm3
Melbourne from 7.40pm3
Perth starting at 5.20pm4
weather permitting.
Thanks to Miemie for suggesting this item.
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1 Space.com: “How Far is the Moon?”, http://www.space.com/18145-how-far-is-the-moon.html
2 Sydney Morning Herald: “Clouds expected to spoil Sydney's view of the supermoon”, http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/clouds-expected-to-spoil-sydneys-view-of-the-supermoon-20161113-gsocdm.html
3 Sydney Morning Herald, “Seven things you need to know about the supermoon”, http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/seven-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-supermoon-20161102-gsghdv.html
4 WAtoday, “Perth awaits supermoon phenomenon, here's the best spots to see it rise”, http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/perth-awaits-supermoon-phenomenon-heres-the-best-spots-to-see-it-rise-20161113-gso975.html
/ Supermoon Supermoon how far is the Moon Earth's moon brightest object in our night sky closest celestial body proximity making life possible here on Earth Moon's gravitational pull stabilizes Earth's wobble on its axis stable climate Moon's orbit around Earth elliptical perigee closest approach Moon close as 225,623 miles 363,104 kilometers apogee farthest away it gets Moon 252,088 miles 405,696 km from Earth average the distance from Earth to the moon about 238,855 miles 384,400 km the Moon moving away from Earth rate of about 1.5 inches 4 cm per year clouds expected spoil Sydney's view of the supermoon Sydneysiders excited much-hyped supermoon interstate friends the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting low visibility on Monday night Moon's biggest brightest display nearly 70 years 25 November 203 4 BOM forecaster Sarah Chadwick sky watchers in Sydney hoping for an occasional gap in the clouds Moon will be at its most spectacular as the sky darkens while it is close to the horizon Melbourne Planetarium astronomer Tanya Hill best viewing window evening twilight between moonrise sunset Melbourne 14 November between 7.40pm when the moon rises and 8.09pm when the sun sets Sydneysiders between moonrise at 7.07pm and 7.36pm when the sun sets best spot see it clear view eastern horizon just before sunset amateur skywatchers full moon Supermoon telescope Moon is too bright equipment you might want with you on 14 November decent camera keen-eyed observers pick out lunar landmarks maria Moon's low-lying seas darker patches Apollo 11's famous landing site eastern edge of the Sea of Tranquility. The Tycho crater and Copernicus crater lighter-coloured circles we see the moon upside down compared to northern hemisphere astronomical showstopper 25 November 2034 another supermoon next month albeit not at perigee Moon's orbit 360,390 kilometres from Earth further away from us what is a supermoon anyway Supermoon combination two things full Moon Moon at perigee orbit approaching Earth at its closest 14 November bring the moon 50,000 kilometres closer to Earth Supermoon this monster appear up to 14 per cent bigger 30 per cent brighter than average full moon travels across the night sky November 14 biggest one is almost 70 years Moon astronomically speaking close to Earth it'll be 18 years until it's this close to us again /
