UPDATE: Photo credit goes to Gary Hershorn Photography.
There was a lot of buzz going around with the Super Snow Moon that arrived this morning in Michigan. It appears the view in New York City was quite incredible based on the picture Twitter user @James44306277 posted. Take a look at the post below that captured the Snow Moon, what appears to be a United Airlines jet, and the Statue of Liberty. Nice Shot!
Super Snow Moon in NYC pic.twitter.com/zCuCDXl5VC
— Jim Kee (@James44306277) February 19, 2019
Here are some Snow Moon & Supermoon facts according to the NASA Science Center
Fast Facts
Native American tribes of what is now the northern and eastern United States called this the Snow Moon or the Hunger Moon. It was known as the Snow Moon because of the heavy snows that fall in this season (NOAA long-term monthly averages for the Washington, DC area show January and February nearly tied as the snowiest months of the year). Bad weather and heavy snows made hunting difficult, so this Moon was also called the Hunger Moon.
A supermoon occurs when the moon’s orbit is closest (perigee) to Earth at the same time it is full. So what’s so special about a supermoon? Turns out, it’s a bit more subtle than it sounds—but for the interested observer, there’s plenty to see and learn.
- The Moon orbits Earth in an ellipse, an oval that brings it closer to and farther from Earth as it goes around.
- The farthest point in this ellipse is called the apogee and is about 253,000 miles (405,500 kilometers) from Earth on average.
- Its closest point is the perigee, which is an average distance of about 226,000 miles (363,300 kilometers) from Earth.
- When a full moon appears at perigee it is slightly brighter and larger than a regular full moon—and that’s where we get a “supermoon.
