YOU MIGHT HAVE noticed a particularly imposing moon in the night’s sky last night.
That was a supermoon, and while it was particularly stunning yesterday, tonight and tomorrow will also be great times to see it.
According to Astronomy Ireland, it was closest to Ireland in the early hours of this morning.
A ‘supermoon’ is when a full moon occurs when Luna is closest to Earth.
Astronomy Ireland explains:
The Moon’s distance from Earth can vary by about 15%, which can cause a change in brightness of about 30%, but a supermoon looks even more impressive than this due to an optical illusion – the ‘Moon Illusion’
“By definition the Full Moon rises when the Sun sets and there is also an optical illusion called the “Moon Illusion” that makes theMoon ’look’ bigger when it is low down, just above the horizon. In fact, the Moon’s size does not change at all.”
The result can be pretty stunning. Our moon is thankfully a pretty sight, and lends itself to such events… unlike other depictions of the moon.
If you capture any shots of the moon tonight, or even any from last night, send them to pics@thejournal.ie.
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