Supermoon 2019: BIGGEST Moon of the year peaks on TUESDAY – Look out

The so-called Supermoon will peak in the afternoon hours of Tuesday, February 19, when viewed from the UK. The Supermoon will reach full illumination around 3.53pm GMT (UTC) when the Sun is still relatively high in the sky. However, once the Sun sets, astronomers are touting one of the most incredible lunar spectacles will grace the night skies. According to Gianluca Masi, head of the Italy-based Virtual Telescope Project, the February Supermoon will be up to seven percent brighter than any other Full Moon this year.

This happens because the Full Moon will approach its point of perigee, or its closest orbital distance to the Earth.

Mr Masi told Express.co.uk: “The next Supermoon will be the largest Full Moon of 2019.

“Supermoon is a popular term indicating a Full Moon or a New Moon happening when our satellite is close to its perigee, that is, its minimum distance from the Earth.

“The term itself is of no scientific value – astronomers prefer to call it a perigee Full Moon, but undoubtedly, Supermoon is by far a much more charming name.”

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On Tuesday, Mr Masi said, the Moon will be bigger and brighter than usual but the difference might only at first be evident to seasoned astronomers.

The splendour of a Supermoon is best seen when compared to a regular Full Moon, or better yet, a Micromoon – a Full Moon at its farthest from the Earth.

But the astronomer said the event is still a charming and wonderful event to observe, regardless of your astronomical skills.

Mr Masi dubbed the Supermoon a “precious opportunity to admire our natural satellite in the night sky context”.

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The night sky, he said, is an increasingly overlooked and forgotten landscape.

There are a total of three Supermoons this year, with the first peaking on January 21 and the next one on March 21.

Of these three the February Supermoon is the most spectacular one.

On average, the Moon sits roughly 238,855 miles (384,400km) from the Earth.

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At perigee, the Moon approaches the Earth from a distance as close as 225,623 miles (363,104km).

At its farthest point, at apogee, the Moon sits roughly 252,088 miles (405,696km) from Earth.

Supermoons, like the one next week, are best seen around the time of moonrise or moonset.

Mr Masi said observing the Full Moon around the time of twilight is a particularly splendid opportunity to see the Moon in action.

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source: express.co.uk