Ahmedabad: 2019's largest 'Supermoon' today

Tuesday will give an opportunity to see the largest Supermoon of 2019, a senior official at the Gujarat Science City said. The full Moon of February 19 will appear on perigee, its closest point to Earth in the oval-shaped lunar orbit.

At this point, the Moon can be as much as 14% closer to Earth than at apogee, when it is the farthest from our planet. It appears larger in diameter, and as a result, it shines 30% more moonlight onto the Earth. Narottam Sahoo, the advisor at Gujarat Council on Science & Technology (GUJCOST), said that the Supermoon will rise in the Ahmedabad sky at 6.26 pm and set at 6.51 am on Wednesday.

"Not only will Tuesday's full Moon be the largest of 2019, but it will also be the third-largest of next 10 years. In fact, we will have to wait until Christmas Eve of 2026 to see a larger full Moon," Sahoo said.

He said that special arrangements with telescopes and interaction with scientists are being made at Science City to witness the celestial spectacle.

THE SUPERMOON

• A full Moon occurring close to perigee, popular-ly called a Supermoon
   
• Supermoon of Feb-ruary 19 is the closest full Moon of the year
   
• It will be visible at a distance of 3,56,846 km as against the average distance of 3,85,000 km. 
   
• Supermoons are brighter than ordinary full moons