On Wednesday night Australians will be able to see the biggest and brightest moon of the year.
It has been called the “pink supermoon”, but Monash University astronomer Michael Brown says it won’t be pink, and in fact, it might not be that super but, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t look.
“A supermoon is a full moon where the moon is just a little bit closer to Earth than usual, so it looks a little bit bigger and a little bit brighter,” Brown said.
It’s about 10% closer and 20% bigger in area and brightness.
“That’s a pretty subtle difference, and that’s not going to be immediately obvious to the human eye.”
A supermoon happens when the moon reaches the closest point to Earth in its 27-day orbit and it happens to be full, which occurs approximately once a year.
While the moon will be around 40,000km closer to Earth, Brown says the photos of enormous moons in the sky are simply optical illusions.
“To be honest, some of the supermoon photography out there is people playing tricks with zoom lenses … When we see the moon next to a tree or a mountain or a plane flying in front of it, we certainly get a perception of it being very big.”
Although it’s called “pink”, Brown says this is just a name, like “blue moon”. It simply means the April full moon and it will probably still be silver or yellow-tinged in the sky.
“The only time that we get unusual colours for the moon is if say, we’re looking at it through smoky or dusty skies like we had last summer … or in a lunar eclipse.”
He said it’s still worth venturing into your backyard or gazing at it out the window.
“The moon is a really rewarding astronomical object to look at … Even with the unaided eye, you can see the dark blotches on it which are the basalt plains,” Brown said.
“If you have a decent set of binoculars or a cheap telescope, you can see craters and some of the mountains … It’s a good opportunity to just take a look and appreciate the moon for what it is.”
Brown said stargazing can be a rewarding family quarantine activity.
“Some of the bright stars and planets are very easy to see with the unaided eye.
“From my lounge room and with $100 telescope I’ve seen the rings of Saturn and the clouds of Jupiter, so it’s certainly something one can undertake while stuck at home.”
• Share your photos of the super moon – whether impressive or underwhelming – with Guardian Australia’s picture editor carly.earl@theguardian.com
