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Home / New Zealand

Second of supermoon trilogy 'wolf moon' shines bright

NZ Herald
2 Jan, 2018 06:26 AM3 mins to read

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Tonight's 'wolf moon' captured in Auckland. Photo / Greg Bowker

Tonight's 'wolf moon' captured in Auckland. Photo / Greg Bowker

The most super of the "supermoon trilogy" graced our skies overnight.

Nasa had been urging sky-watchers to lead their "pack" outside to take in the "wolf moon" as it's known.

It was the biggest and brightest of the three supermoons set to appear in two months. The first one was on December 3, the second one January 2 and the third one will be on January 31.

The year's first super moon rises over the Auckland Skytower tonight. Photo / Greg Bowker
The year's first super moon rises over the Auckland Skytower tonight. Photo / Greg Bowker
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If you missed Tuesday night's moon - never fear, the January 31 moon will be "extra special" according to Nasa. As well as being a supermoon it will feature a total lunar eclipse which only happens around twice a year.

Otago-based British astronomer Ian Griffin provided a handy guide of the moon's surface before its appearance overnight.

So… if you live in Dunedin, Moonrise tonight is at (approximately) 21:25, with the moon at an azimuth of ~60 degrees if you want to set up your cameras for cool super moon rising shots! Here’s a handy guide I’ve just put together to the lunar seas. #moon #supermoon pic.twitter.com/KZryodo6ZF

— Ian Griffin (@iangriffin) January 2, 2018

All that knowledge paid off with this super shot:

So I spent way too much time chasing clear sky this evening, but finally found a spot to watch the moon rise. #moon #supermoon #DunedinNZ pic.twitter.com/PpPWe5hU4d

— Ian Griffin (@iangriffin) January 2, 2018

A supermoon is a moon that is full and also near its closest point in its orbit around Earth. Since the Moon's orbit is oval, one side is about 50,000km further from Earth than the other.

When the full moon is on the closer side it appears about 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter than full moons that occur near the far side in the moon's orbit.

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Tonight’s full Moon will be the biggest and brightest of 2018. Called the Wolf Moon, we’re calling it our #NewYearsDay Moon and the most super of the three supermoons this winter. Happy #MoonCrushMonday! https://t.co/s6Egk9vvTj pic.twitter.com/PAJfyzeKYz

— NASA Moon (@NASAMoon) January 1, 2018

Noah Petro, a research scientist from Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Center, said the three supermoons were perfect chances to get into sky gazing.

"The supermoons are a great opportunity for people to start looking at the Moon, not just that once but every chance they have."

Moons have a 29.5-day cycle that usually matches up pretty well with the length of a calendar month. Occasionally, there will be two full moons in a month, called a "blue moon". This is something that happens about every two-and-a-half years, Nasa reported.

The supermoon is here! Be sure to bundle up then lead your “pack” outside to view the #WolfMoon 🐺, the most super of the three supermoons this winter! pic.twitter.com/Pjddyd4Flu

— NASA (@NASA) January 2, 2018

With the total eclipse the January 31 moon will be a "super blue blood moon".

"Sometimes the celestial rhythms sync up just right to wow us. Heed your calendar reminders. On the three dates marked, step out into the moonset or moonrise and look up for a trilogy of sky watching treats," Nasa reported.

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