People around the globe have witnessed the biggest and brightest full moon of the year on the night of June 22-23 as the moon reached its closest point to Earth.
It has come within 222,000 miles of Earth, reaching fullness at
around 7:30 a.m. EDT, making that the best time to view.
The “supermoon” appeared 14 percent larger than normal,
but it was not be possible to see the change without special
equipment.
"It's a subtle difference," Noah Petro, NASA planetary
geologist, told NASA TV. "It really is a reward for people
that are looking at the moon quite regularly."
The moon may have appeared 30 percent brighter, though this is
merely an optical illusion as it looms larger on the horizon next
to trees or buildings.
"It gets people out there looking at the moon, and might make
a few more people aware that there's interesting stuff going on
in the night sky," said Geoff Chester of the US Naval
Observatory in an e-mail to AP.
Like in any “supermoon” event, higher tides were forecast,
though the increase will not be significant compared to the 11
other full moons of the year.
Scientists say that the phenomenon does not threaten Earth; some
people make connections between lunar events and crime or
behavior.
“There should be no impact for anybody on Earth," Petro
added. "There should be nothing unusual except maybe for more
people staring up at the moon, which should be a wonderful
thing."
Livescience.com has published a number of tips for those who plan
to photograph the “supermoon”, including using a tripod to
avoid blurry images and a long lens to capture the dazzling lunar
display.
"To your camera, the moon is extremely bright, especially
against a black background," explained photographer Jason
Mrachina. “When you're shooting at night, the relative
difference between light and dark is extremely high, so you have
to take that into consideration.”
The Skywatchers, who were prevented from witnessing the event
this weekend due to cloudy skies, will have to wait until August
next year to get another chance.