Biggest Supermoon in 68 Years on Sunday Night

Manila, Philippines, 14 Safar 1438/14 November 2016 (MINA) – Under clear skies, Filipinos can witness on Sunday night the biggest and brightest “supermoon” in 68 years.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the moon will pass by the earth at a distance of 356,621.611 kilometers, the closest it has passed the earth since 1948, at 7:21 p.m. tonight.

“This year’s supermoon is one of the closest and biggest in 68 years and it won’t happen again until 2034,” Philstar quoted PAGASA aas saying.

The moon’s average distance from the earth is 384,400 km.

A supermoon or technically a “perigee full moon” is a phenomenon that occurs when a full moon coincides with the moon being the closest it gets to the earth on its orbit.

The full moon can appear as much as 14 percent larger in the sky and 30 percent brighter to the people’s eyes than at minimum size and brightness.

The word “perigee” comes from the Greek words peri, which means “near” and gee, which means “earth.”

Astronomers said the best way to see a supermoon is in an area with little pollution and with little to no artificial light.

The upcoming supermoon’s pull of gravity could also create higher-than-usual tides in some parts of the US.

PAGASA said during the supermoon the gravitational pull makes high tides higher and low tides lower.

Filipino fishermen know this event and so avoid fishing during full moon. (T/R07/R01)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)