Skywatchers get ready as a supermoon is coming very soon into the new year once we have officially said goodbye to 2018. Supermoons happen when a full moon coincides with perigee – its closest monthly orbit to earth. During the lunar display, supermoons appear much larger and brighter in the sky. Astrologer Richard Nolle came up with the definition in 1979 when he classed supermoons as “a new or full moon which occurs with the moon at or near (within 90 per cent of) its closest approach to Earth in a given orbit”
In order for a full moon or new moon to qualify as a supermoon, this means they must come within 224,775 miles of Earth.
Supermoons can appear up to 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter, hence their names.
When is the first supermoon of the new year?
The first supermoon in 2019 will take place on Monday, January 21, according to NASA.
Skywatchers can catch the dazzling display in North and South America, Africa and western Europe.
In London the super lunar eclipse should last five hours, 11 minutes and 33 seconds, according to Timeanddate.com.
Totality starts at 4.41am lasting for one hour, one minute and 58 seconds.
How many supermoons will there be in 2019?
There will be three supermoons in 2019 – the other two fall on February 19 and March 21.
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