Astronomical Theory Section - Planetary Phenomena


Supermoons   (3)

  • Introduction
  • What are the real facts?
  • Is a Supermoon really super?
  • How often does a Supermoon occur?
  • So what exactly is a Supermoon?
  • A time-based criterion
  • The brightness of a Supermoon
    • Finding the brightest Full Moons
    • Can we see the brightness difference?
  • The Saros period gets involved
  • The periodicity of Supermoons based on distance
  • But what does a Supermoon look like?
  • Summary
    • The next Supermoons
  • Conclusion
  • Postscript
  • Acknowledgements
A Supermoon is a remarkable phenomenon which happens every 13 months - a Full Moon which is 14% larger & 30% brighter than usual. Or so we have been told by the media. In fact, as I reveal in this article, it is not really any of those things. I explore how the distance and brightness of Full Moons changes from occasion to occasion, and carry out detailed calculations to find out the truth behind the hype. Finally, I show that the way we see and perceive objects has an enormous effect on the true appearance of Supermoons, casting doubt on the whole concept, before revealing that some "ordinary" Full Moons can actually be larger than Supermoons! Conclusion - don't believe everything you hear.

Click on the title to read the article.
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