Biggest Supermoon of 2022: Dates, days and what makes it special – Times of India

We are just days away from another big celestial event of the year 2022 – the biggest Supermoon of the year. The Supermoon that will appear on July 13 will last up to three days this week, according to NASA. Here are the details:
What exactly is Supermoon
As per NASA, a Supermoon occurs when the Moon’s orbit is closest (perigee) to Earth at the same time the Moon is full. The term “supermoon” was coined in 1979. It is a full moon occurring near or at the time when the Moon is at the closest point in its orbit around Earth.
According to Old Farmer’s Almanac — a reference book containing weather forecasts, the supermoon is nicknamed as Buck Moon meaning that the full moon will occur when it’s at its closest point to the Earth.
What are the dates on which the Supermoon will be visible this month
As per NASA, the Moon will appear full for about three days around this time, from early Tuesday morning through early Friday morning. “The next full moon will be Wednesday afternoon, July 13, 2022, appearing opposite the Sun in Earth-based longitude at 2:38 p.m. EDT. This will be on Thursday morning from the India Standard Time Zone eastward to the International Date Line. The Moon will appear full for about three days, from early Tuesday morning through early Friday morning,” says the US space agency.
What makes this Supermoon special
The Supermoon occurring this month (July) is full Buck Moon orbits closer to Earth than any other full Moon this year, making it the biggest and brightest supermoon of 2022. At its nearest point, the Buck Moon will be 357,418 km from Earth so it just edges out June’s Strawberry Moon by 200km, as per Almanac.com
How many Supermoons appear in a year
Supermoons only happen three to four times in a year, and always appear consecutively. Throughout most of Earth’s orbit around the sun, perigee and the full moon do not overlap, according to NASA.
When is the last Supermoon of 2022
The first supermoon of 2022 appeared in June and the third and final of the year will rise in August. The next supermoon is slated to appear on September 18, 2024.
(With agency inputs)