IN THE KNOW: Supermoon

A supermoon occurs when a full moon is at perigee, the point when the moon is closest to Earth in its orbit.

During this phenomenon, Earth, sun and moon align as the moon orbits Earth, also known as syzygy. A moon’s orbit is elliptical, therefore one side (perigee) is closer by 50,000 km to Earth than the other (apogee).

Also known as the perigee full moon, a supermoon appears up to 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than normal.

The supermoon on Nov. 14 will be the second of three supermoons this year. The first supermoon was on Oct. 16 and the next will be on Dec. 14, which is seen to reduce the visibility of the meteor shower.

But this month’s supermoon is considered the closest full moon since 1948 and will not come as this close to Earth again until 2034.

It is best viewed under clear skies. In 2013, the supermoon hid behind rain clouds over Metro Manila. But other provinces where there was no rain caught a glimpse of the supermoon.  —COMPILED BY INQUIRER RESEARCH

Sources: nasa.gov, Inquirer Archives

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