Supermoon

Forget the full moon; on Sunday the 23^rd of June island residents will be able to marvel at a supermoon, when the moon will be at its closest point to earth, a phenomenon called perigee. Because the moon is in its fullest phase this close brush will make it appear 12% bigger than normal in the night sky.

The near coincidence of Sunday’s full moon with perigee will result in a dramatically large range of low and high ocean tides. The highest tides will not coincide with the perigee moon but will lag behind for up to a few days depending on the specific coastal location.

When the perigee moon lies close to the horizon it can appear absolutely enormous, this is when the famous moon illusion combines with reality to produce a truly stunning view. For reasons not fully understood by astronomers or psychologists, a low hanging moon looks incredibly large when hovering near to buildings, trees and foreground objects. The fact that the moon will be much closer this weekend will only serve to amplify this strange effect.

So get your cameras at the ready and enjoy some supermoon gazing!

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