There has been a lot of fuss in the press regarding the blue supermoon…and rightly so! The Moon is a fascinating object and an easy objec to get anyone interested in space and astronomy. I was fortunate to be interviewed on Radio Devon which gave me an opportunity of explaining the phenomenon. When there are two full moons in a month, the second one is called ‘blue’…origins of this are disputed, and the term is used as a catch all for anything rare. Two full moons in a month are not actually that rare but a blue supermoon is. A supermoon occurs when the moon is at its closest to Earth or perigee, and when it coincides with being low on the horizon, looms very large in the sky. It is the same size as always, but appears larger due to perspective and the extra brightness.
Karen Hedges 