Tonight, the moon will appear huge. At dinner time, be sure to look out the window — otherwise, you won’t see one of these for almost a year.
A reported this week that the Moon will be full at Friday at 9:29 pm in mainland Portugal.
The Moon is considered a “Super Moon” when is full and its orbit is at the closest point to Earthaccording to NASA — although the term “Super Moon” is not, according to , the official one. When this phenomenon happens, the tides are higher than normal, says the space agency.
This celestial event occurs between three and four times a year — in groups, or consecutive full moons, recalls NPR, which adds that, for the most distracted who pass by the phenomenon, You may still be able to see the Super Full Moon until Sunday.
But it is today that the peak of the phenomenon will be recorded: “it is the last Super Moon of 2024, which means that the Moon will appear larger and brighter than normal”, writes NASA.
Americans call the Super Moon that occurs in November “Beaver Moon”the “Beaver Moon). According to NASA, “the term originates from a variety of traditions and folklore of Native American and European culture. One explanation — November is the time when beavers prepare for winter by fortifying their dams and storing their food.”
Furthermore, Beavers also have a connection to space: NASA helps researchers of the species to collect information about it, using the fleet of Earth observation missions to pass over the areas where these animals are found, capturing images of the landscape where they live.
A This year’s first Supermoon occurred in Augustand coincided with a rare phenomenon: a . This phenomenon will only repeat itself in 2037, but if you miss today’s, don’t worry: it’s not that rare, and you can see it in October next year, when three Super Moons will be recorded in a row.
Christopher Palmaprofessor in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Pennsylvania, told NPR that he is “definitely in favor of everyone observing the moon, and when it appears at its maximum size, when it is full, that is the easiest time to to observe.”
That’s why must use a lunar mapto be able to identify the characteristics of the Moon’s surface. “A place to start is search for Tycho crater“, recommends the astrophysicist.
