Super big moon? BMKP guide you to see it clearly!

The Millennium Super moon has been the topic since last night! So did you grab this chance? Or you’ve missed it?

As a crazy fan of astronomy enthusiasts, I also missed to see the super moon yesterday! So sad! Don’t worry, now we BMKP make a short summary connected with the super moon.

The super moon is a made-up term,” said James Lattis, an astronomer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “It’s not an astronomical term, there’s no technical definition of it.”

Super moon was actually coined by an astrologer in the 1970s, not by a scientist. The term has come to loosely mean a full moon that is at perigee, or when the moon is at its closest position to Earth along its orbit.

Compared to an average full moon, this super moon will be approximately 7 percent larger and 15 percent brighter. But most people won’t be able to tell the difference between it and a regular moon.

“There’s no fireworks show, no blinking sign that says, ‘Hey, this is the super moon!’” said Noah Petro, a deputy project scientist for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission.

Instead, the super moon really shines when it is compared with the full moon at apogee, or its farthest position from Earth. If you place images of the two side by side, you can see the difference more easily, Dr. Petro said. The super moon is 14 percent larger than the apogee full moon and 30 percent brighter.

On average, the moon is about 238,900 miles away from Earth. But Sunday and Monday’s super moon will be approximately 221,524 miles away.

Astronomers measure the distance of the moon from Earth by shooting lasers to the surface of the moon, which then bounce off mirrors called retro reflectors, which were left behind by the Apollo missions and two Soviet Landers.

Even though most people will not notice anything special about this super moon, Dr. Petro said it will still be a good excuse to start gazing at the night sky more regularly.

If you are busy in daily life and confused to where to find the super moon, you could call BMKP to customize your route. Never miss the super big moon next time!