"Supermoon" Shines Over Austria Tonight

On the night of Thursday, a special celestial event will be visible over Austria: the largest full moon of the year, a so-called "supermoon". The moon will reach its closest distance to Earth in the year 2025 – only about 356,400 kilometers will separate it from our planet on Wednesday evening. For comparison: at its farthest point from Earth, the moon is more than 400,000 kilometers away.

What is a "supermoon"?

The word "supermoon" is not a scientifically defined term, but rather a popular expression. It describes an astronomical conjunction of a full moon and perigee – the closest point of the moon's orbit to Earth. On average, this happens about every 13.6 months. The full moons before and after also appear slightly larger and brighter, but are not considered "true" supermoons.

According to the director of the Vienna Planetarium, Michael Feuchtinger, the moon appears about 14 percent larger and shines around 20 percent brighter during a supermoon than a regular full moon, as reported by ORF. However, the difference is usually difficult for the human eye to perceive.

Best view at moonrise

The supermoon is particularly impressive shortly after rising or before setting – an effect that astrophysicist Franz Kerschbaum from the University of Vienna calls "moon illusion": When the moon is near the horizon, it appears larger due to optical illusion than when it is higher up. Those who want to experience the best impression should find an unobstructed view towards the east around sunset – then the supermoon appears particularly photogenic.

The exact full moon time is on Wednesday at 2:19 PM – however, the moon will be best visible only after sunset. It will reach its closest position to Earth at 11:16 PM. Whether the natural spectacle is well observable, as always, depends heavily on the weather. In many regions of Austria, clear visibility is expected in the evening.

(Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.