Rome, 11 July 2022 – Superluna July 13, how to see it. The sky will give us the largest full Superluna of 2022, the third of the year. Gianluca Masiscientific director of Virtual Telescope Projectwill offer the opportunity to view the event on the internet.
At 20.38 on Wednesday the Moon will be full, about nine hours after its passage to perigee (i.e. at the minimum distance from the Earth, 357,263 km from us, against an average distance of just over 384,000 km): it will therefore be a little closer, brighter and a little larger than usual.
What is the Superluna
This ‘overlap’ between the full Moon and the passage through the perigee is now popularly referred to as the ‘Superluna’. The term, in itself – explains Masi – has no scientific value: in astronomy we prefer to speak of Full Moon at Perigee. Both the Full Moon and the New Moon are considered ‘Superluna’, provided that it occurs with our satellite at the minimum distance from the Earth. The Moon, in fact, describes a markedly elliptical orbit around our planet, therefore its distance from us is not constant, but varies between a minimum value (perigee) and a maximum value (apogee). Of course, the New Moon is not visible in the sky, so the only observable ‘Supermoon’ is the full one (unless an eclipse of the Sun occurs at the new ‘Supermoon’, as happened in March 2016).
The seven Supermoons of 2022
In 2022 there are seven Supermoons, four full and three new. “The next Supermoon will appear about 7% larger and a little brighter than average, but only an experienced observer might, perhaps, realize it,” says Masi. “In fact – continues the scientific director of the Virtual Telescope Project – these are not exactly striking variations, which nevertheless add charm to the event, a precious opportunity to admire our natural satellite in the context of the night sky, an increasingly neglected and forgotten landscape” .
How to follow the ‘live’ on the Virtual Telescope
The Virtual Telescope, thanks to its mobile instruments, will film the ‘Superluna’ as it rises on the horizon of Rome, sharing the vision live, as always, with the curious from all over the world. The live broadcast is scheduled for July 13, 2022, starting at 9pm. Participation is free, just log in to the site https://www.virtualtelescope.eu.
Supermoons and Native Americans
Giuseppe Cutispoto, astronomer of the observatory Inaf of Catania, adds a fascinating explanation to frame the event. This July was referred to by Native Americans as the Deer’s moon. The year begins in January with that of the Wolf. Followed by the snow moon, the warm one in March, the pink one in April, the flowers in May and the strawberries in June. So in August we will have the Sturgeon moon, in September of the Harvest, in October of the Hunters, in November of the Beaver to end with the Cold moon of December.
But what will we see?
However, the scientist warns: “To grasp the differences, one must have theretrained eye. Certainly, on July 13 the Moon is close to the perigee, which means 355 thousand km from the Earth, which becomes 404 thousand when it is at its apogee. It doesn’t always happen to have the two conditions together, perigee and full moon “. In short, the charm is guaranteed. The result also depends on your training.