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Mini-moon brightened morning sky |
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June 9. 2017 |
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| Photos by Peter
Lowenstein in Mutare, Zimbabwe |
| At right,
the August 29, 2015 supermoon. At left,
the March 5, 2015 micro-moon – smallest
full moon of that year. |
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By Bruce McClure
EarthSky.org
June 9, 2017, brings the farthest full moon – and
hence the smallest full moon – of the year.
We’ve heard it called the micro-moon or
mini-moon. Here in Idaho, you might have seen it
in this morning's sky. And that bright star-like object near
tonight’s moon isn’t a true star; it’s the
planet Saturn.
This June full moon occurs less than one day
after reaching lunar apogee, the moon’s farthest
point in its monthly orbit. The near alignment
of full moon and lunar apogee team up to give us
the farthest and smallest full moon of the year.
One fortnight (or approximately two weeks)
before this June 9 micro-moon, it was the
closest new moon of the year on May 25, 2017. On
that date, the new moon paired up quite closely
with perigee, the moon’s nearest point in its
monthly orbit. And thus we had the closest new
moon – and closest supermoon – of 2017.
The year’s farthest full moon on June 9 lies
some 30,000 miles (50,000 km) farther from Earth
than did the year’s closest new moon on May 25.
The micro-moon or mini-moon often returns about
one month and 18 days later with each passing
year, meaning that, in 2018, the year’s smallest
full moon will come on July 27.
Story continues below photo
In 2019, the year’s smallest full moon will fall
on September 14; and in 2020, the smallest full
moon will occur on October 31. The micro-moon or
mini-moon frequently recurs in periods of 14
lunar months (14 returns to full moon), a period
of about one year and 48 days.
The crest of the moon’s full phase on June 9,
2017, comes at precisely 13:10 Universal Time.
Although the full moon occurs at the same
instant all around the world, our clocks read
differently in various time zones. In the United
States, the moon turns exactly full on June 9,
at 9:10 a.m. EDT, 8:10 a.m. CDT, at 7:10 a.m.
MDT and 6:10 a.m. PST.
So in the Americas, the full moon happens during
the daylight hours on June 9, when the sun is
above our horizon and the moon is below it.
No matter where you live worldwide, look for the
moon to appear plenty full on the night of June
9. As with any moon at the vicinity of full
moon, it’ll light up the nighttime from early
evening until dawn.
In North America, we often call the June full
moon the Strawberry Moon; and more generally in
the Northern Hemisphere, the June full moon goes
by the appellation of Rose Moon or Honey Moon.
The terms supermoon or micro-moon aren’t names
from folklore (like Strawberry Moon). Those
names aren’t bound to a particular month or
season.
They’re just a modern terms to describe the
year’s largest and smallest (or brightest and
faintest) moons.
Every month for the next seven lunar months, the
full moon will come closer and closer to Earth
until the full moon finally coincides with
perigee (instead of apogee) on January 2, 2018,
to present the closest and largest full moon
(plus the closest and largest supermoon) of
2018.
Then seven lunar months after the closest
and largest full moon supermoon on January 2,
2018, it’ll be the smallest full moon micro-moon
all over again on July 27, 2018. |
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