Supermoon celestial spectacle seen across world on December 4
At many places across the world skywatchers and astronomy-enthusiasts enjoyed spectacular views of the Moon appearing larger and brighter in the sky. The Facebook friend from Dubai, Vijay Mathu, enjoyed the sight on December 4 night and shared a photograph taken by him.

The supermoon, this December, was the last opportunity to see such a sky spectacle in 2017 which happened when the Moon reached its closest point to the Earth, known as a perigee Moon.

According to reports, the moon appeared 7 per cent larger and 15 per cent brighter.

A supermoon is a full moon that has the closest distance from the Earth it reaches in its elliptic orbit, resulting in a larger-than-usual apparent size of the lunar disc.

The name supermoon was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979. He defined it as 'a new or full moon which occurs with the Moon at or near (within 90 per cent of) its closest approach to Earth in a given orbit or perigee'.

However, on the supermoon night, the Earth, the Moon and the Sun are all in a line, with the Moon in its nearest approach to the Earth.

The term supermoon has its origin in modern astrology and the opposite phenomenon, an apogee syzygy, has been called a micromoon which often goes un-noticed. It is said that the next supermoon will occur on January 2, 2018.

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