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Optimal weather conditions ensure a rare phenomenon in the night sky in Cologne on Tuesday: The moon shines especially on the night of July 12-13, because it is particularly close to the ground. This phenomenon is also colloquial Supermond Call.
subordinate Mond At night from Tuesday to Wednesday it is at its closest point to Earth and “only” 357,264 kilometers from Earth. This is about 30,000 km less than the average. The Moon will approach Earth in just over twelve years on November 25, 2034.
Super Moon in Cologne: The moon is brighter and larger than usual
In science, the point at which the Moon and the Earth are near is called perigee. The moon appears very large, especially at sunrise and sunset, and is about seven percent larger and 14 percent brighter than the usual full moon variant.
The moon was already relatively close to Earth at the end of April, but at that time it was still about 130 kilometers away than expected for Tuesday. In addition, weather conditions should be much better than at the end of April, when the German Weather Service (DWD) predicts a starry night.
The weather in Cologne is optimal for the supermoon on Tuesday, July 12
In Cologne, the moon rises at 9.43pm in the southeast in the evening and reaches its highest point at around 1.30am. If you want to watch Super Moon on a Wednesday morning, you have until 5:33 a.m. Shortly before it sank, it is also particularly large. Since the moon describes a fairly flat arc above the horizon in summer, it is also easy to notice at eye level.
The moon is getting farther and farther from the earth
It is becoming increasingly rare for the Moon to come close to Earth and shine brightly over Cologne: on average, it moves 3.8 cm from Earth each year. The differences are hardly perceptible to the human eye, but 500 million years ago the giant moon was about five times larger than it is today.