Don't miss it! The biggest supermoon of the year is coming soon

Supermoon (data map) Photo by Li Jianji

According to the Guangzhou Wuyang Planetarium, the largest supermoon of the year will appear in the early morning of July 14, and can be seen from all over China. The best time to observe is from the night of July 13 to the early morning of July 14. This year's supermoon (full moon) is the lowest full moon above the horizon in the northern hemisphere since 2008.

A supermoon is a full moon at perigee. At 17:06 on July 13 this year, the moon moved to its closest perigee to the earth in the whole year, at only 357,372 kilometers, and its apparent diameter was at its largest at this time; at 02:38 on the 14th (full moon), the moon, earth and sun were arranged in a nearly straight line, and the moon was at its roundest at this time, with an apparent diameter of 33.7 arc minutes, which is larger than the apparent diameter of the sun in the whole year.

Observations show that for the same full moon, its apparent diameter is 14% larger and its apparent area is 30% larger at perigee than at apogee.

Schematic diagram of the supermoon. Drawn by Li Xuyan

When the supermoon rises in the east, the public will feel that the full moon is particularly large and golden. At this time, you can use your mobile phone or digital camera to take a photo with the supermoon, usually with the help of a flash.

The supermoon on July 14 is the full moon with the lowest altitude above the horizon in the past 14 years. The moon's altitude above the horizon in various places: Harbin at 23:35 on July 13, 18 degrees; Beijing at 00:17 on July 14, 24 degrees; Shanghai at 23:56 on July 13, 33 degrees; Guangzhou at 00:30 on July 14, 41 degrees; Shenzhen at 00:27 on July 14, 42 degrees; Haikou at 00:43 on July 14, 44 degrees.

Under normal circumstances, a supermoon occurs once every 14 lunar months (about 413.4 days). The next supermoon will appear on August 31 next year. By then, the moon will be at its "perigee" at only 357,181 kilometers, and can be seen from all over China. The apparent diameter of next year's supermoon will be larger than this year's supermoon.

Source: China News Network