The final supermoon of the year illuminated the night sky over Singapore on Thursday (August 11).
The supermoon, also known as the Sturgeon Moon, will occur between the night of Thursday and Friday, said the Science Centre Observatory in a Facebook post.
“Like other supermoons, it will appear brighter than the usual full moon and a tad bit larger to our eyes,” it added.
The moon rose at about 6.45pm on Thursday evening from the east and south-east.
“It should rise to a height easy for most to see at around 9pm and will set towards the west-south-west direction. It is also interesting to note that the moon will be relatively close to Saturn,” said the observatory.
A supermoon occurs when the moon’s orbit is closest to Earth at the same time the moon is full, according to NASA. When this happens, the moon appears slightly brighter and larger than a regular full moon.
Including the Sturgeon Moon on Thursday, there have been four supermoons in 2022 one each from May to August.
According to the Farmers’ Almanac, the Sturgeon Moon gets its name from the sturgeon fish that was commonly caught in the Great Lakes by Native American tribes during this time of the year.
The next supermoons will occur on August 1 and August 31 next year, according to the In-The-Sky website, an online guide on the night sky.
CNA reader A Kannan captured the celestial sighting from Woodlands Avenue 5 when the moon rose from the south-east of the country.
“The moon was approximately 360,343km away from Earth when I took these pictures. The moon was unusually bright and bigger with the craters and mare on the moon visible when a close-up view was taken,” he said.
He added that the moon will set at about 7am on Friday when it is still about 99 per cent full.
Facebook group Stargazing Singapore said in a post that the supermoon will reach full illumination on Friday night.
It will be visible by 8pm on Friday if skies are clear and can be seen in the south-east direction.
Stargazing Singapore said a good place for viewing would be a seaside or beachfront location where the low horizon is visible.
East Coast Park, Changi Beach, Marina Barrage or the high floor of a tall building or an unobstructed open air multi-storey car park are all suitable locations, the post added.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/final-supermoon-2022-singapore-sturgeon-aug-11-2874736
Category: Singapore
