SUPER MOON. This Monday July 3 was marked by a first Supermoon of the year 2023, also called “Super Deer Moon”. Discover the most beautiful photos of the astronomical phenomenon and the calendar of the next super moons.
[Updated July 4, 2023 1:13 PM] The first Super Moon of the year 2023 occurred on Monday, July 3, dubbed “Super Deer Moon”. Closer to Earth than usual, the star appeared 5.8% larger and 12.8% brighter than usual during the “perigee-syzygia” phenomenon, when the Full Moon was on the closest point in its orbit to Earth, 361,934 kilometers away. Check out the most beautiful photos of the supermoon taken around the world:
In astronomy, this event is called “perigee-syzygia”, the name of Super Moon having nothing scientific, since it is an invention of the astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979. “A Super moon occurs when the full moon coincides with the moment when the Moon comes closest to Earth in its elliptical orbit, a point called perigee,” explains NASA’s website.
By Super Moon, we therefore mean a celestial phenomenon that is due to two elements: the only satellite of planet Earth passes closest to us when it is a full moon evening.
The next Supermoon will be the second in the year 2023, dated Tuesday, August 1. Four Super Moons are visible this year 2023: July 3, then Tuesday August 1, Thursday August 31, and Friday September 29.
The Super Moon is only really observable after sunset, with the naked eye, using binoculars or telescopes. In order to observe a Super Moon in optimal conditions, you must equip yourself with astronomical glasses or a telescope, far from atmospheric pollution, or go to one of the clubs of the French Astronomical Association (AFA). See the map.
A Super Moon appears slightly brighter and larger than a Full Moon, simply because it appears at perigee, at its closest orbit point to Earth, less than 360,000 km away.
Due to the Full Moon’s proximity to our planet Earth, its effects have an even stronger impact on tides, mood, and sleep. Indeed, as explained in a 2013 Swiss scientific study published in the journal Current Biology, “a lunar rhythm can modulate sleep patterns in humans.” This means that the time to fall asleep is extended by 5 minutes, deep sleep decreased by 30% and sleep duration by 20 minutes. Consequently, the level of melatonin, a hormone secreted during our sleep, which has a role to play in mood, is lower, which can cause irritability or even depression.
