A supermoon – which occurs when the moon is in close proximity to Earth – appears around 17 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter than the moon at its farthest point from Earth, according to Nasa. And tonight is your last chance to see one in 2022, as the sturgeon supermoon – which peaked this morning at 11.35am – shines bright at moonrise on Friday August 12.
Moonrise will be at any time from 5.30pm, if you live on the east coast of Australia. The moon will be visible until Saturday morning, but moonrise gives you the clearest view of the lunar event (depending how clear the skies are at the time).
It’s called a sturgeon supermoon because of the abundance of sturgeon in the North American Great Lakes around this time of year. The first known reference to it is in The Old Farmer’s Almanac, a reference book first published in 1792.
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SHOP NOWA supermoon occurs when the moon is within 360,000 kilometres of the Earth on its orbital path. We’ve seen a supermoon in May, June and July so far this year. The next one will be in August 2023. But on November 8, look to the skies for the next blood moon – a total lunar eclipse visible from Australia, Asia, North America and most of South America.
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