Biggest, brightest moon in nearly 70 years

Sky-watchers the world over climbed to the tops of high buildings or went out into the countryside on Monday to get a closer view of the “supermoon”, the largest, brightest full moon in nearly seven decades.

In Cyprus, the sight was marred slightly at times by clouds.

The large moon was closer to Earth on Monday than at any time since 1948 making it appear up to 14 per cent bigger, and 30 per cent brighter, than usual, according to NASA.

At its closest approach at 6:23 a.m. EST (1123 GMT) on Monday, the moon passed within 348,400 km of the Earth’s surface, about 35,400 km closer than average, the agency added.

The moon’s distance from Earth varies because it is in an egg-shaped, not circular, orbit around the planet.

The next opportunity to see a full moon come as close to Earth will be in 2034.

 

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.