2024 will see a series of three Super New Moons in a row. The first took place on February 9, the other two will be on March 10 and April 8.
Super New Moons, like any other New Moon, are usually not visible from Earth, but the dark night skies provide great opportunities for some night sky watching. Some natural phenomena can’t be seen with the naked eye, but their effects can be. Such a phenomenon happens this Sunday when our satellite swings particularly close to Earth. It will do so just a few hours after a new moon, which will bring rare “king” tides… and will even send a huge wave backwards up a mighty river. So what is a super new moon, and why is it so important? What is a super new moon?
New moon is when our satellite’s orbit takes it between the Earth and the sun. It’s not a precise match-up — that would be a solar eclipse — but when the moon is close to the sun as seen from Earth, only its far side is illuminated. This happens every 29 days, once per lunar orbit, but this month’s new moon is a little different. It’s closer than any other new moon of 2024 at precisely 356,893 km from Earth. That makes it a super new moon.
You may have heard of a Super Moon, when Luna appears bigger and brighter in the sky than average, but this month’s Full Moon is the opposite: a Micro Moon! The Moon is nearing its apogee, the farthest point from Earth in its orbit, which it will reach in just over 24 hours. So, the Full Moon may appear just a bit smaller and dimmer than usual. However, the difference will be hard to notice!
