Yesterday the tail end of Tropical Storm Bertha drifted over the UK in her death throws.  We had torrential rain overnight and into the morning, then there was a brief sunny interlude followed by more rain and gusty winds.  It didn’t look promising for viewing the so called ‘Supermoon‘…

I was pleasantly surprised when the clouds lifted enough for the moon to become visible. My camera decided to be difficult and no matter what setting I chose, it refused to focus and did not allow me to press the shutter to take a photo.  I persevered… I even succumbed to taking some photos with my compact camera…

The moon looked bright and beautiful, but not exactly larger than usual.  My photos show a bright globe with no shadow details on the moon, that is how it appeared when viewing by the naked eye too. So although the sky appears not to be cloudy there must have been a slight haziness, slightly obscuring the moon.

Tonight we will experience the first of three supermoons.  The other two will occur on August 10th and September 9th.

The scientific term for the phenomenon is “perigee moon.” Full Moons vary in size because of the oval shape of the Moon’s orbit. The Moon follows an elliptical path around Earth with one side (“perigee”) about 50,000 km closer than the other (“apogee”).  Full Moons that occur on the perigee side of the Moon’s orbit seem extra big and bright.

This coincidence happens three times in 2014.  On July 12th and Sept 9th the Moon becomes full on the same day as perigee.  On August 10th it becomes full during the same hour as perigee—arguably making it an extra-super Moon.

The illusion occurs when the Moon is near the horizon.  For reasons not fully understood by astronomers or psychologists, low-hanging Moons look unnaturally large when they beam through trees, buildings and other foreground objects. When the Moon illusion amplifies a perigee Moon, the swollen orb rising in the east at sunset can seem super indeed.

The moon will officially become full Saturday (May 5) at 11:35 p.m. EDT. And because this month’s full moon coincides with the moon’s perigee — its closest approach to Earth — it will also be the year’s biggest.

The moon will swing in 221,802 miles (356,955 kilometers) from our planet, offering skywatchers a spectacular view of an extra-big, extra-bright moon, nicknamed a supermoon.

HT – The Illusive Man