The first supermoon arrives on the evening of August 19. Of the four that will occur in 2024 in the coming months, this event brings with it a small gift. In fact, this will be the third of the four full moons proposed by the current season, a circumstance referred to in Anglo-Saxon tradition as a “blue moon,” signifying a relatively rare event.
in At 8:26 pm on August 19th the moon will be full.about 35 hours before it passes through perigee (i.e. at its closest distance from the Earth, 360,198 kilometres, versus an average distance of just over 384,000 kilometres): it will therefore be a little closer, brighter and slightly larger than usual. This overlap between the full moon and the passage to perigee is now referred to as a “supermoon”. The term itself has no scientific value: in astronomy we prefer to speak of a full moon at perigee, but there is no doubt that the title “supermoon” has a charm of its own.
since The lunar cycle lasts about 29 and a half days.or just under a month, the season hosts an average of three, but occasionally there is room to accommodate a fourth. When this happens, the third full moon of the four is called a “blue moon” in the Anglo-Saxon tradition, representing a very infrequent event (“once in a blue moon, once every full moon.” The last seasonal blue moon occurred in 2021, and the next will be in 2027.
It is consideredSuperluna“Both the full moon and the new moon, as long as it occurs and our satellite is close to the minimum distance from the Earth. In fact, the Moon describes a remarkably elliptical orbit around our planet, and therefore its distance from us is not constant, but varies between a minimum value (rock bottom) and the maximum value (The Apex). Of course, a new moon is not visible in the sky, so the only “supermoon” that can be observed is a full moon (unless a solar eclipse occurs on a new “supermoon,” as happened in March 2016). In 2024, there will be nine supermoons: four full and five new, indicating that this is a relatively frequent occurrence.
The next “super moon” It will appear about 6% larger and slightly brighter than average.“But perhaps only an experienced observer would be able to see this,” says Gianluca Masi, astrophysicist and scientific director of the Virtual Telescope project. “In reality,” he continues, “these are far from dramatic differences, but they nevertheless add to the magic of the event, and are a valuable opportunity to admire our natural satellite in the context of the night sky, an increasingly neglected and forgotten landscape.”
The spectacle of the full moon, especially the “supermoon”, reaches its maximum at sunrise, at sunset, or at the setting of our satellite, that is, at dawn (the full moon rises in the sky opposite our star, rising at sunset and setting at dawn). “During twilight, the remaining sunlight allows you to admire the landscape of the Earth while the Moon rises or sets on the horizon,” says astrophysicist Gianluca Masi. “At night,” continues Masi, “its light is very intense, almost dazzling, compared to the very dim panoramic light.” “At sunrise or sunset, the Moon falls behind buildings and landscape elements, creating the impression that its disk is larger, but it is only an optical illusion, due precisely to its presence in the visual field of comparison terms taken from the environment.”The supermoon offers a valuable opportunity to invite people to restore general awareness of sky views among the general public, even in the city, which is known to be unfavorable for stargazing due to light pollution.“Masi comments,” he said.
The giant moon on August 19 will be a “guest” of the stars of Aquariusa constellation located in the southern half of the zodiac. Virtual telescopeThanks to her mobile devices, she will photograph the “Blue Supermoon” as it rises above the Tyrrhenian Sea, and share her vision, as always, with curious people from all over the world. The event will be commented on by astrophysicist Gianluca Masi.
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