THE BIG THREE
BBC Sky at Night Magazine|June 2022
The top sights to observe or image this month
THE BIG THREE

Perigee full Moon and the 'Moon illusion'

BEST TIME TO SEE: Evenings of 14-16 June

The lunar orbit is elliptical and over time this means the distance between Earth and the Moon varies. As you would expect, the apparent diameter of the Moon varies over its orbit because of this distance change. Apogee describes when the Moon is furthest from Earth, perigee when nearest. When it's closest, the Moon's apparent size is around 34 arcminutes, while at apogee the Moon's apparent size is around 30 arcminutes.

Apogee and perigee have no connection with lunar phase, the orbit cycle being out of sync with the phase cycle. A full Moon near perigee gains more attention than a regular full Moon because it appears larger and brighter than average, and has also become known by the popular term 'supermoon'. However, if you compare a perigee full Moon to the ones in previous and following months you probably wouldn't notice any difference.

Last month, the Moon was full at 05:15 BST (04:15 UT) on 16 May. Lunar perigee occurred at 16:27 BST (15:27 UT) on the 17th, meaning that was a perigee full Moon. The Moon had an apparent diameter of over 33' 40" on that date. In June, full Moon occurs at 12:52 BST (11:52 UT) on 14 June, perigee at 00:23 BST (23:23 UT) on 15/14 June, the Moon's apparent diameter reaching 33' 56", fractionally larger than May's. July's full Moon occurs on 13 July at 19:38 BST (18:38 UT), perigee on the 13th at 10:05 BST (09:05 UT), resulting in a maximum apparent diameter of 33' 57".

Esta historia es de la edición June 2022 de BBC Sky at Night Magazine.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición June 2022 de BBC Sky at Night Magazine.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE BBC SKY AT NIGHT MAGAZINEVer todo
Could We Find Aliens by Looking for Their Solar Panels?- Designed to reflect ultraviolet and infrared, the panels have a unique fingerprint
BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Could We Find Aliens by Looking for Their Solar Panels?- Designed to reflect ultraviolet and infrared, the panels have a unique fingerprint

Researchers searching for life beyond Earth spend a lot of time thinking about what telltale signs might be detectable astronomically. Forms of unambiguous evidence for the presence of life on another world are known as biosignatures. By extension, techno signatures are indicators of activity by intelligent, civilisation-building life.

time-read
2 minutos  |
August 2024
Antimatter- In our continuing series, Govert Schilling looks at antimatter, the strange counterpart to most of the matter filling our Universe
BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Antimatter- In our continuing series, Govert Schilling looks at antimatter, the strange counterpart to most of the matter filling our Universe

Particles and corresponding antiparticles are very much alike, except they have opposite electrical charges. For instance, the antiparticle of the electron - known as the positron - has the same tiny mass, but while electrons carry a negative electrical charge, positrons are positively charged.

time-read
4 minutos  |
August 2024
Where Have All The Milky Way's Early Stars Gone?- Our Galaxy has a curious lack of pristine stars
BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Where Have All The Milky Way's Early Stars Gone?- Our Galaxy has a curious lack of pristine stars

The Big Bang produced a Universe filled almost exclusively with hydrogen and helium; all other elements - what astronomers call metals - were produced by stars, supernovae and everything that happens later. So if you can pick out a pristine star with no metals polluting it from among the billions in the Milky Way, then you are likely to have a star dating from our Galaxy's earliest days.

time-read
2 minutos  |
August 2024
Inside The Sky At Night - Two years ago, exoplanet scientist Hannah Wakeford received some of the first data from the JWST
BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Inside The Sky At Night - Two years ago, exoplanet scientist Hannah Wakeford received some of the first data from the JWST

Two years ago, exoplanet scientist Hannah Wakeford received some of the first data from the JWST. In July's Sky at Night, we discovered what she's learned since then.

time-read
2 minutos  |
August 2024
How to stack DSLR data in Siril
BBC Sky at Night Magazine

How to stack DSLR data in Siril

Easily combine multiple frames to boost detailin your astro photos

time-read
2 minutos  |
August 2024
Lunar occultation of Saturn
BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Lunar occultation of Saturn

You'll need to strike a balance on 21 August to capture the Moon covering the ringed planet

time-read
2 minutos  |
August 2024
How to plot a variable star light curve
BBC Sky at Night Magazine

How to plot a variable star light curve

A rewarding project to chart stars that change brightness

time-read
2 minutos  |
August 2024
Smartphone photography with a telescope
BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Smartphone photography with a telescope

Mary Mcintyre explains how to get impressive night-sky images using your phone

time-read
2 minutos  |
August 2024
Once-a-century solar storm is overdue
BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Once-a-century solar storm is overdue

If a Carrington Event struck today it would be catastrophic, says Minna Palmroth

time-read
2 minutos  |
August 2024
The new era of human spaceflight
BBC Sky at Night Magazine

The new era of human spaceflight

There's been a step-change in crewed space missions since the dawn of the 21st century. Ben Evans charts its course and looks ahead to future horizons

time-read
9 minutos  |
August 2024