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Science Series: Harvest, Blood, Supermoon
Tonight’s Harvest, Blood, Supermoon
Triple Header Celestial Event
September 17, 2024
Tonight promises to be a triple header full Moon. This won’t happen again until 2042, so tune in to the sky at 10:35 PM Eastern Time. You should be able to see it until Thursday.
What do all these words mean?
Supermoon
When we talk about Supermoon, we’re not referring to Clark Kent’s secret identity. A “super” moon occurs when a full moon coincides with the Moon’s orbit around the Earth, which is closest in its elliptical orbit, known as perigee. This means the Moon’s appearance in the sky is 14% to 30% larger and brighter than a non-supermoon, a regular full moon. Because the Moon is closer to the Earth, tides can be higher than usual. And, of course, there are the werewolves to consider.
The term “supermoon” was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979 as either a new or full Moon that occurs when the Moon is within 90% of its closest distance to Earth.
