{"id":787514,"date":"2024-08-20T02:55:53","date_gmt":"2024-08-20T07:55:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=787514"},"modified":"2024-08-20T02:55:53","modified_gmt":"2024-08-20T07:55:53","slug":"augusts-supermoon-is-the-first-of-four-lunar-spectacles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=787514","title":{"rendered":"August’s supermoon is the first of four lunar spectacles"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n The supermoon appears behind the statue on Place de la R\u00e9publique, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, in Paris. Credit: AP Photo\/Aurelien Morissard
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Monday’s supermoon is the first of four this year.<\/p>\n

During a supermoon, the full moon inches a little closer than usual to Earth. A supermoon isn’t bigger, but it can appear that way in the night sky, although scientists say the difference can be barely perceptible.<\/p>\n

September’s supermoon will coincide with a partial lunar eclipse. October’s will be the year’s closest approach, and November’s will round out the year.<\/p>\n

More a popular term than a scientific one, a supermoon occurs when a full lunar phase syncs up with an especially close swing around Earth. This usually happens only three or four times a year and consecutively, given the moon’s constantly shifting, oval-shaped orbit.<\/p>\n