Get your telescopes or cameras (or camera phones, if you’re satisfied with grainy night shots) ready to bask in the light of 2019’s biggest supermoon, the Super Snow Moon.
According to CNN, Native Americans and Europeans gave February’s full moon the “snow moon” title because it’s the month that’s associated with heavy snowfall.
The supermoon part of its name comes from the phenomenon that occurs during certain full moons when the celestial body is closest to its perigee (ie the point in the moon’s orbit at which it’s nearest to earth) — approximately 356,761 kilometers.
The Super Snow Moon, the second of three expected supermoons in the first three months of 2019, will be visible all over the world, including Indonesia, and it should appear bigger than the first supermoon of the year, which took place on January 21.
The head of the National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN), Thomas Djamaluddin, said the Super Snow Moon should be visible all night long across Indonesia. That said, Thomas said the best time to observe it is soon after sunset.
“A supermoon is like a full moon, but the size of the moon will appear much bigger, although you can still only see it clearly with a telescope,” Thomas said today, as quoted by CNN Indonesia.
Even without a telescope, though, observers can still take in the glory of the supermoon with the naked eye.
The next supermoon is predicted to be on March 21, but the distance between the moon and the perigee will be approximately 360,000 kilometers.
Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has published a high tide warning for people who live on coastlines.
“The Super Snow Moon phenomenon will affect the maximum high tide at the north coasts of Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Java, and the coast of West Kalimantan,” BMKG wrote in a statement today, as picked up by Detik.
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