If you’re going a little stir crazy being cooped up inside your home during the coronavirus lockdown and you need a pleasant distraction, you might want to head outside and peek up at the sky Tuesday night. That’s when the biggest and brightest “supermoon” of the year will be shining.
Astronomy experts say the April 7 full moon — nicknamed the “pink moon” because of the pink flowers that usually start to bloom this time of the year — will have the closest orbit to the Earth out of all 13 full moons of 2020.
And yes, there will be 13 full moons this year instead of the usual 12, because two full moon phases will occur in October, one on Oct. 1 and one on Halloween.
When to see the April supermoon
The April supermoon will officially be at its fullest phase at 10:35 p.m. Eastern time on April 7.
The moon will start to rise in the eastern sky in the New York City region at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday and will set in the western sky at 7:38 a.m. Wednesday, according to TimeAndDate.com.
If you miss the supermoon Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, it will appear nearly 100 percent full again Wednesday night into Thursday morning and 97 percent full Thursday night.
The full "pink moon" will be rising in the night sky on April 7, 2020 and also will look full on the night of April 8. It's also going to be the biggest supermoon of the year.Photo illustration | Pixabay
Astronomy buffs consider a supermoon to be a full moon that tracks closer to the Earth than an average full moon. As a result, it appears to be 7% to 14% larger and up to 30% brighter than other full moons, especially when it starts to rise over the horizon or if atmospheric conditions are ideal.
There is a debate in the astronomy community over what distance a full moon’s orbit must be from our planet to be classified as a supermoon.
Many experts, including those at Sky & Telescope magazine, believe a supermoon is a full moon that tracks less than 223,000 miles from the Earth at the closest point of its orbit, known as the perigee. TimeAndDate.com, which writes a lot about celestial events, uses 223,694 miles (which is 360,000 kilometers) as its benchmark for supermoons.
However, some have a looser definition, saying any full moon that is less than 226,000 miles to our planet can be classified as a supermoon.
Tuesday night’s moon will be 221,851 miles away from the Earth when it turns full, according to EarthSky.org. So, whether you follow the stricter definition or the looser definition, it fits the billing of a supermoon.
Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @LensReality or like him on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMic2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lm5qLmNvbS9uZXdzLzIwMjAvMDQvdGhlLWZ1bGwtYXByaWwtbW9vbi13aWxsLWJlLXRoZS1iaWdnZXN0LXN1cGVybW9vbi1vZi0yMDIwLWFuZC1hbHNvLWEtcGluay1tb29uLmh0bWzSAYIBaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubmouY29tL25ld3MvMjAyMC8wNC90aGUtZnVsbC1hcHJpbC1tb29uLXdpbGwtYmUtdGhlLWJpZ2dlc3Qtc3VwZXJtb29uLW9mLTIwMjAtYW5kLWFsc28tYS1waW5rLW1vb24uaHRtbD9vdXRwdXRUeXBlPWFtcA?oc=5
2020-04-07 13:32:22Z
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