As we witnessed the first super moon of 2019 in January, which is Super Blood Wolf Moon Lunar Eclipse, we are going to have the second Super moon of the year on February 19th, the speciality of this super moon is that, it is the latgest super moon of the year 2019, when the moon comes within 221,681 miles of Earth.
An image of the moon taken by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is shown in two halves to illustrate the difference in the apparent size and brightness of the moon during a supermoon. The left half shows the apparent size of a supermoon (full moon at perigee), while the right half shows the apparent size and brightness of a micromoon (full moon at apogee). Credits: NASA/Goddard/Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
What’s Super Moon :
The Moon doesn’t orbit in a perfect circle. Instead, it travels in an ellipse that brings the Moon closer to and farther from Earth in its orbit. The farthest point in this ellipse is called the apogee and is about 405,500 kilometers from Earth on average. Its closest point is the perigee, which is an average distance of about 363,300 kilometers from Earth. During every 27-day orbit around Earth, the Moon reaches both its apogee and perigee.
Full moons can occur at any point along the Moon’s elliptical path, but when a full moon occurs at or near the perigee, it looks slightly larger and brighter than a typical full moon. That’s what the term “supermoon” refers to.
In this super moon, our planet’s satellite appears 10 percent larger and almost 30 per cent brighter in the sky.
On February 19th, The Moon will be located on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun and its face will be will be fully illuminated.
When it will appear as the largest ?
Around 15:53 UTC, the full moon will be closest to the earth. Which is 221,681 miles away from Earth.
Timings : 15:53 UTC
21:23 IST
What is Snow Moon ?
As Early Native American tribes kept track of seasons by giving names to each full moon, This full moon was known by these native tribes as the Full Snow Moon because the heaviest snows usually fell during this time of the year.
Full Hunger Moon ?
Since hunting is difficult due to Heavy snow fall, this moon has also been known by some tribes as the Full Hunger Moon, since the harsh weather made hunting difficult.
Second of the Three super moons of 2019
This is also the second of three supermoons for 2019. The next one will take place on March 21, the same day as the Spring Equinox.
The Moon will be at its closest approach to the Earth and look slightly larger and brighter than usual.
Please spread the word.
You can read our post on January’s super blood wolf moon lunar eclipse at the below link.
Last ‘blood moon’ eclipse of the decade – Super Blood Wolf Moon Lunar Eclipse January 2019