This is an event not to be missed for astronomy fans. After a series of super moons during the summer, the last of the year will illuminate the sky in the night from Thursday to Friday, it is the "super moon of the harvest".
As a reminder, a supermoon is a Moon that passes closest to the Earth, when two events coordinate, according to the NASA website: "A Super Moon occurs when the full Moon coincides with the time when the Moon comes closest to the Earth in its elliptical orbit, a point called perigee. "
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Earth's natural satellite will reach its perigee and is expected to be about 356,500 km from Earth, 20,000 km closer than usual. According to NASA, they can appear up to 14% larger and 30% brighter than usual. Scientists do not speak of a supermoon but of "perigee syzygy".
Also known as the "Super Corn Moon"
However, this difference in brightness and size could be difficult to spot for a casual observer as there have been four consecutive supermoons since July, including two in August until the last of this month.
Also called "super corn moon" by indigenous groups in the northeastern United States, it is called the super harvest moon because it usually takes place during harvest time, not too far from the autumnal equinox. Its name dates from the period before the "invention" of electricity, when farmers worked in the fields very late at night and had to rely on the light of the Moon to illuminate them.
Tinged with orange and red, next night's super harvest moon will be visible from sunset this Thursday from 19:30 pm and will light up the sky until 7:40 am Friday morning, before disappearing. A show not to be missed, at the risk of having to wait until August 2024 to observe the next "perigee syzygie", which will be the "super moon of the Sturgeon".
