Summer treat as year's largest supermoon is set to glow

A Buck “supermoon” will grace the skies overnight Wednesday – the biggest one of the year – as our neighbour arrives arrives at its closest point to the Earth.

A passenger plane, with a "supermoon" full moon behind it makes its final landing approach towards Heathrow Airport in London. REUTERS/Toby Melville

NASA says that when a full moon appears at the so-called perigee, in this case a distance of 357,264 kilometres away, it is larger than a regular full moon.

“The supermoon can be up to 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than a full moon at its apogee (its farthest point),” NASA says.

Because the lunar orbit is not a perfect circle, but a slightly elongated ellipse, its distance from Earth changes. 

We've spent today looking across the universe, so let's wrap it up with something a little closer to home.

Keep an eye on the skies for the Buck Supermoon, our next full Moon, on July 13: https://t.co/H9EI3XIZOu pic.twitter.com/RMAqLw7Qxv

— NASA (@NASA) July 12, 2022

July’s supermoon is particularly special because our satellite is about 400km closer to Earth than an average supermoon.

To observe the phenomenon, sky-gazers will need to wait until sunset, and hope for a cloudless night.

In western Europe it will be visible between 10pm and 4am.

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According to Space.com, astrologer Richard Nolle coined the phrase supermoon in a 1979 edition of Dell Horoscope, a now-defunct periodic American astrology magazine.

Nolle wrote that a full moon that is within 90 percent of its closest approach to Earth would benefit from the "super" branding.

Last month, during the night of 14-15 June, a “super strawberry Moon" was observable around the globe.