Full moon rising, tonight beams first of 3 summer supermoons

The supermoon is rising over the bluff on the west side of bluff street. The photo was taken from Valley View Drive, St. George, Utah, July 11, 2014 | Photo by John Teas, St. George News

ST. GEORGE —  The moon reached its fullest stage early morning Saturday and is designated as the first of three full-moon “supermoons” to occur in 2014 along with Aug. 10 and Sept. 9. The moon is characterized as a “supermoon” because it appears bigger and brighter in the night sky.

The technical term for a “supermoon” is “perigee moon.” According to NASA’s website, the altering sizes of the full moons occur because of the elliptical orbit of the moon around the earth; perigee represents the point in the moon’s orbit where it comes closest to the earth. Apogee is when the moon lies furthest from the Earth.

With Saturday night’s full moon, and Sept. 9, perigee occurs the same day that the moon reaches its fullest phase; however on Aug. 10, “it becomes full the same hour as perigee, arguably making it an extra-super moon,” the website states.

The moon becomes full when it is directly opposite from the sun and may appear as a full moon for several nights especially as it ascends from the eastern horizon and also just before it sinks below the western horizon.

For an unknown reason, low-hanging moons look unnaturally large when they beam through trees and buildings which suggests that if you happen to gaze up as the moon begins to rise it may appear to be the biggest moon you’ve seen yet.

Ed. note: “beam” inserted in final sentence.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2014, all rights reserved.

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3 Comments

  • Editor in Ch..oh wait July 13, 2014 at 10:26 am

    “For an unknown reason, low-hanging moons look unnaturally large when they through trees and buildings which suggests that if you happen to gaze up as the moon begins to rise it may appear to be the biggest moon you’ve seen yet.”
    Seriously, where the heck are the editors? How can we count on a news agency that publishes so many errors? I am no English major but it is getting annoying. Every writer and editor are going to make mistakes once in a while, but literary accuracy is your JOB! It seems as though every article has obvious errors that just cry out “uneducated” or”lazy”. Which is it St. George/Cedar City news?

    • Avatar photo Joyce Kuzmanic July 13, 2014 at 10:10 pm

      The moons look unnaturally large when they beam through trees …
      Editor in Chief here to “Editor in Ch..ohwait,” to answer your question of me, I have been away this week. We have been stretched thin. No excuse, however. We take your observations humbly to heart and thank you for them.
      ST. GEORGE NEWS | STGnews.com
      Joyce Kuzmanic
      Editor in Chief

  • Ricardo July 13, 2014 at 11:46 pm

    The real think about moon will need hep how will stop

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