The rare moon phenomenon of the decade
SHERMAN, Texas (KXII) - The super blue moon was the biggest and brightest moon.
A blue moon is not so much blue, but scientists use the term to describe the second full moon appearance in a calendar month.
Wednesday, there was a combined blue moon and super moon. Affelia Wibisono with The Royal Observatory Greenwich, explained that “the moon’s orbit around the earth is not perfectly circular. So sometimes, the moon will be slightly closer to the earth than other points, and when that happens during a full moon, [they] call it a super moon. So when it’s at its closest point, the full moon will look a little bit brighter and a little bit bigger than the usual full moon.”
Wibisono said that super moons aren’t as rare as blue moons, but the occasion that they occur at the same time, is special.
The next time we will experience a super blue moon won’t be until 2037.
Wednesday, the moon was 222,043 miles away. compared to the average distance its usually at, which is 238,855 miles according to NASA.
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