Look to the sky early Thursday morning, July 14, for the brightest “supermoon” of 2022.
In its astronomical diary for July, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the full moon on July 14 will be about 357,417.824 kilometers (km) away from Earth, thus, considered a supermoon.
The distance of the full moon from the Earth is usually about 363,300 km.
According to PAGASA, a full moon at perigee, commonly known as the supermoon, is an astronomical phenomenon occurring when the closest approach of the moon to the Earth, referred to as perigee, coincides with a full moon.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said the moon may appear up to 17 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than the average full moon during supermoon.
“However, the change in size and brightness of the moon during the supermoon compared to the regular full moon might be difficult to detect through visual comparison. Change in the size of the moon can be recognized once compared side-by-side with the previous photo of a regular full moon,” PAGASA said.
NASA also noted that supermoons only happen three to four times a year, and always appear consecutively.
The fourth and final supermoon of 2022 will be on August 11.