
Millions of people stayed up late on Saturday night to catch a glimpse of the rare "Supermoon," which appeared large and bright in the night sky over the weekend.
If you took a look at the sky this weekend, you may have noticed that the moon was unusually large and bright. According to a report from UPI, the moon’s orbit was abnormally close to Earth over the weekend, an event also known as perigee. The moon hung at just 222,631 miles above our atmosphere on Saturday evening.
During perigee, the moon appears about 14 percent larger in the sky to viewers on the ground. The moon is about 5,200 miles lower than normal; It usually orbits the planet at roughly 238,855 miles away.
The supermoon precedes two more supermoons this coming autumn, with subsequent supermoons on both the 27th of September and October. The term “supermoon” is still relatively young; astrologer Richard Nolle came up with the term only 30 years ago. Before, the giant moons were simply referred to as perigee full moons or perigee new moons.
If you were lucky enough to be in the Canary Islands off of Morocco over the weekend, you probably had one of the best views of the moon from anywhere on Earth. However, enthusiasts across North America and Europe were also treated to a bulbous, round, bright moon in the night sky this weekend.
Some people living by the ocean have raised concerns that the moon’s proximity to the Earth will have an exacerbating effect on high tides, but there have been no reports of coastal flooding so far. Saturday was calm and peaceful, and even people by the sea got to witness a beautiful astrological event that is unique to our solar system.
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