Earth witnesses rare ‘supermoon’ event

Earth witnesses rare ‘supermoon’ event

 

[caption id="attachment_17385" align="alignnone" width="400"] (The supermoon is seen rising above the Kuwait skyline on August 10, 2014. (AFP))[/caption]

 

On Sunday, the world is set to gaze upon a moon that seems larger than normal – because the moon is closer on this date to the earth than it has been for two decades.

 

This year’s largest full moon, which is the second to occur this summer, will be as much as 30 percent brighter and 14 percent closer than other full moons of 2014, according to NASA.

 

While the celestial body’s increase in size may not be clearly visible to the naked eye, it has been dubbed a supermoon - the scientific name for a perigee moon, with perigee meaning the “closest point to earth.”

 

Although supermoons occur on average every 13 months, it is expected this year that there will be three in a row – with the first supermoon occurred on July 12 and the next one to appear on September 9, according to UK-based daily The Independent.

 

Sunday’s cosmic event is not projected to occur again until 2034.

 

Although the moon is significantly closer to Earth, it is not expected to significantly alter tides.

 

(Staff writer, Al Arabiya News)

 

(Al Arabiya News, 10 Sunday August 2014 The Roman)