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Missed the harvest moon? This is when you can see the next supermoons
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Missed the harvest moon? This is when you can see the next supermoons

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On Tuesday evening, Australians look towards the night sky may have noticed a particularly bright one, esp big moon.
It was the first supermoon of the year, also known as a ‘harvest moon’ – the name given to the full, bright moon that occurs closest to the start of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere and spring in the Southern Hemisphere.
The name is derived from the time when farmers in the Northern Hemisphere relied on the light of the moon to harvest their crops late into the night. The moon’s light was especially important in autumn, when harvests are at their greatest.

While those who missed the Harvest Moon may be disappointed, more supermoons are in store before the end of the year.

What is a supermoon?

The moon does not orbit the Earth in a perfect circle. Super moons are full moons that coincide with the moon’s closest approach to Earth in its elliptical orbit, making it appear about 10 percent larger because it is closer to us.

The moon’s closest point to Earth is known as perigee, and during its 27-day orbit around Earth the moon reaches both its perigee, about 363,000 km from Earth, and its furthest point – or apogee – about 405,500 km from Earth.

Supermoons are rare and only a few occur each year, but two more can be expected in the coming months: on November 5 and December 4.
Adam Batten, an astronomer from Swinburne University of Technology, said supermoons occur in series every year because of the Earth’s position around the sun and the moon’s position around the Earth.

“Because the Earth’s orbit doesn’t move too much between months, you kind of get them lined up. So if there’s a supermoon one month, it’s very likely that the month on either side of it will also be a supermoon, because it’s not moving too much, so it will also be very big,” Batten said.

In addition to dominating the night sky, supermoons can also cause tangible changes on Earth in the oceans.
“Moons are clearly strongly linked to the tides in the ocean, so a moon closer to Earth will have a greater effect,” he said.

“The tides will be stronger during a full moon – but even bigger during a supermoon, so you could get an even bigger king tide if the conditions are right.”

Wait, what is a full moon again?

Batten said the different phases of the moon can be thought of as different positions around the Earth, and that full moons occur when the moon is directly opposite the sun, with the Earth in between.

This is because the moon’s sunlight reflects back onto the Earth.

This week’s harvest moon, as seen from London. Source: Getty / Then Kitwood

The opposite of a full moon in the lunar cycle is what is known as a new moon.

“If you put the moon on the same side of the Earth as the sun – so you have the sun, the moon in the middle and then the Earth on the other side – you get a ‘new moon’, so it gets very, very dark.”

‘No one talks about micromoons’

A ‘micromoon’ is the opposite of a supermoon and occurs when the moon is at its furthest point from Earth in its elliptical orbit, making it appear a lot smaller.

This will happen around March, Batten said, and while it may be less exciting to see, it will provide better conditions for star viewing.
“No one talks about a micromoon and it’s a real shame: it’s better for astronomy if the moon is smaller,” he said.
“The moon is actually a bit of a pain for many astronomers; it ruins a lot of nights. A full moon blocks out so many stars, it makes it very difficult to observe things from the ground. So we actually like it when the moon is as dark as possible or as small as possible.”

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