July Supermoon Will Be Closer To Earth By 21,000 Kms – News18

The first supermoon of the year is about to light up the night sky on July 3. The full moon will shine brighter and appear bigger than an average full moon. July’s full moon is also known as the Buck Moon. Why? because this is the time when male deer, also known as bucks, shed their antlers in full-growth mode only to grow back even more impressive ones with each passing year.

This month’s moon has quite a few other names from different cultures, all with fascinating references to animals, plants and even weather patterns. We’ve got the Feather Moulting Moon (Cree) and the Salmon Moon (Tlingit), which marks the return of fish to certain areas, ready for harvest. And let’s not forget the plant-themed names like the Berry Moon (Anishinaabe), Moon When the Chokecherries are Ripe (Dakota), Month of the Ripe Corn Moon (Cherokee), and Raspberry Moon (Algonquin, Ojibwe).

So, what is this supermoon? The moon doesn’t orbit the Earth in a perfect circle; it prefers an elliptical shape. As a result, its distance from us changes over time. When a full moon aligns with its closest approach to Earth, known as the perigee, we get a supermoon. For our celestial friend to earn this prestigious title, it needs to be less than 360,000 kilometres away from Earth, which happens during the perigee stage of its orbit. To put it in perspective, that’s about 21,000 kilometres closer than the moon’s average distance of around 3,84,400 kilometres.

Now, we won’t sugarcoat it—the difference between a supermoon and a regular full moon might not be glaringly obvious to the naked eye. You see, the supermoon only appears about 7 per cent larger than its regular counterpart, and that can be a tad hard to spot, depending on other factors.

To catch the Buck Moon in all its glory, you’ll want to grab your binoculars and then position yourself towards the southeast after sunset. According to Old Farmer’s Almanac, its peak illumination at 7:39 AM Eastern Time (5:09 PM in New Delhi) will be below the horizon, making the evening view the best opportunity to witness this lunar marvel.