A supermoon taking place on 10 August will be the biggest and brightest of the events to take place this year.
The supermoon taking place on 10 August is predicted to be 30 percent brighter and 14 percent larger than other full moons which have occurred this year. We are currently experiencing a spate of the events, with three full moons already in 2014 being called supermoons. After this upcoming event - the best of the year, another supermoon will take place on 9 September.
As the Moon orbits the Earth in its elliptical orbit, the distance to our celestial companion constantly changes. The positions of the perigee (closet approach) and apogee (point of greatest separation) rotates around the Earth, as seen from above the north pole. When perigee occurs while the moon is full, the event is known as a supermoon.
The difference in brightness between the dimmest full moon and the brightest is only around ten percent, but it can be seen by observers from any fairly dark area offering clear skies. The best views of the supermoon will be available just as our lunar companion is rising, just after 7 p.m. local time.
"It's going to look biggest and brightest to us when it's right next to the horizon. When the moon is right next to things that we're familiar with, like trees and buildings, it looks much bigger than when surrounded by other astronomical bodies like stars," Shawn Domagal-Goldman of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, said.
None of the 2014 events are true supermoons, where the point of perigee and full moon perfectly align. This highlights why the events are so rare - the Moon has to reach perigee at the exact same time that it forms a straight line with the Earth and Sun, being seen as a full Moon.
Supermoons are easily seen by anyone, without the need for special equipment, provided clouds do not cover the sky. Even observers living in urban areas, where light pollution drowns out views of most astronomical events, can watch the event. The supermoon should be easily visible in the east as it rises, toward the south around midnight or 1 a.m. (depending on whether or not the viewer is using daylight savings time) and in western skies just before the Moon sets. The best photographs of supermoons are usually taken when our planetary companion is near the horizon, for picture composition.
The Perseid meteor shower, an annual event, will peak just two days after the supermoon. Sunlight reflecting from the lunar surface could drown out many of the shooting stars, reducing the number of meteors seen from that shower.
