SLOOH , an international team of astronomers tracking celestial phenomena, will have a high-definition live stream of this weekend’s supermoon originating from their observatory in the Canary Islands. The live stream begins on June 23 at 6 p.m. EDT, 9 p.m. PDT. The SLOOH live stream will include a live chat with astronomer Bob Berman and the SLOOH team and will also include different angles of the supermoon as well as close-up looks at the surface of the Moon.
The technical term for a supermoon is perigee-syzygy Moon, or perigee moon. The Moon will be at its closest on June 23 and will appear about 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter compared to its furthest distance from Earth. For something orbiting the Earth, in this case the Moon, the perigee is its closest point while the apogee is the furthest point. SLOOH notes the Moon will be approximately 221,823 miles away from Earth. The next time the Moon will be as close to Earth will be on Aug. 10, 2014.
Berman also points out the supermoon’s effect on the tides saying, “This unusual perfect confluence of lunar perigee and full Moon will create the highest tides of the year. We can expect expose-the-sand lows and lap-the-boardwalk highs on Sunday and especially Monday, since the oceans usually require a day to catch up with the behavior of the Moon.”
Another interesting aspect of the supermoon is its occurrence just two days after the Summer Solstice. Berman says the supermoon is also a “solstitial Moon” and the Moon on June 23 will appear to be hanging incredibly low in the night sky. Berman says, “The visual effect is to make this the lowest-down full Moon of 2013. And since lower Moons tend to be orange-yellow or amber, shining as they do through more than twice as much reddening air and moisture, this lunar experience should give us a true 'honey moon' all night long.”
