August 11th to watch the nearest "supermoon"

The night of August 10-11 (Vietnam time), the closest and brightest full moon of 2014, also known as the closest "supermoon".

According to Mr. Dang Tuan Duy - head of the Ho Chi Minh City Amateur Astronomy Club (HAAC), the remarkable thing about the events on August 10 and 11 is that the full moon and the moon reach their perigee position, almost at the same time (only 20 minutes apart). This perigee is also the time when the moon reaches its closest position to Earth in 2014, at a distance of 356,896km (according to fourmilab). Scientists say the moon will not approach Earth at a similar distance until September 28, 2015.

The "supermoon" is seen behind a helicopter in New Jersey, USA in June 2013 - Photo: AP

This is an interesting astronomical phenomenon because according to some scientists, during a "supermoon" the Moon can appear 12-14% larger and 30% brighter than usual. However, it is difficult for us to detect this difference with the naked eye without measuring tools (the best way to distinguish is to take a photo of the normal Moon and the Moon during the "supermoon" with the same focal length of the camera and then compare).

In 2014, the Moon also had several full moons (June 13 and September 9) and were also called "supermoons", but the distance between the Moon and Earth was greater and the time between the perigee and the full moon was also quite far apart, not at the same time compared to August 10 and 11.

According to Hanoi Moi