The supermoon could be up to ‘30% brighter’.
Astronomy Ireland is urging everyone to look to the skies over the next two nights to get a glimpse of the final supermoon of 2023.
As NASA explains, this phenomenon occurs when the moon is full and its orbit is at its closest point to Earth. When this happens, the moon winds up appearing slightly brighter and larger than a regular full moon.
The September full moon is known as the “harvest moon”.
This is because the bright moon at this time of the year enabled farmers in the past to harvest their crops grown in the summer.
Visitors to The London Eye ferris wheel viewing a September supermoon
Astronomy Ireland said in a statement that the public should be able to view the harvest moon – which could be up to “30% brighter” – on Friday (29 September) and the following Saturday.
Friday will be the best night to witness the phenomenon, with the moon rising from 7.18pm in Ireland.
However, Astronomy Ireland has said Saturday will be “nearly as good”. The moon rises that day at 7.31pm.
David Moore, founder of Astronomy Ireland and editor of its magazine, has said about 2023’s final supermoon:
“The best time to watch is at moon rise, which is the same time the sun sets, when a further effect, called ‘the moon illusion’ kicks in which can make the moon ‘look’ even bigger to the human eye/brain combination.
“People get very creative at these ‘supermoon rises’ and line them up with buildings, sculptures, landscape features, and even friends and families to make very creative photos and we want to feature them in Astronomy Ireland magazine so we are hoping people all around the island will send us their best photo for our special supermoon issue.”
Visit Astronomy Ireland’s website for details of how to send in photos to the magazine.
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