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.
[Mis à jour le 4 juillet 2023 à 13h13] 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 at the time of the “perigee-syzygy” phenomenon, when the Full Moon was on the point of its orbit closest to the Earth, at 361,934 kilometers. Discover the most beautiful super moon pictures 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 when the Moon comes closest to Earth in its elliptical orbit, a point called perigee,” explains the NASA 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 not really observable until after sunset. sun, with the naked eye, using binoculars or telescopes. In order to observe a Super Moon in optimal conditions, it is necessary to equip yourself with astronomical glasses or a telescope, far from atmospheric pollution, or go to one of the clubs of the French Association of Astronomy (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 proximity of the full moon to our planet Earth, its effects have an even stronger impact on tides, mood and sleep. Indeed, as explained by a Swiss scientific study carried out in 2013 published in the journal Current Biology, “a lunar rhythm can modulate the structure of sleep in humans”. This means that the time to fall asleep is extended by 5 minutes, deep sleep reduced 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.
| DATE | HOUR | DISTANCE FROM EARTH |
| Monday July 3 | 1:39 p.m. | 361,934 km |
| Tuesday, August 1 | 8:31 p.m. | 357,530 km |
| Thursday August 31 | 3h35 | 357,344 km |
| Friday, September 29 | 11:57 | 361,552 km |