A Supermoon on a night so revered!

It is one of the most awaited celestial phenomenon of the year- the Supermoon. This year it was special as moon was closest to earth  since 1948. It was just 356, 509 kilometres away. For us Indians, the supermoon night was one of the most auspicious full moon night of the year- Kartik Purnima or the full moon day of the Kartik month of the hindu calendar.

Skygazers took to high-rise buildings, tourist landmarks and beaches worldwide on Monday to catch a glimpse of the closest supermoon in almost seven decades. Many of enthusiastic Indians enjoyed the sight of the moon while taking dip in waters of many holy rivers. Actually, on the occasion of Kartik Purnima people take dip in the rivers considered to be holy. This bath is taken mostly in the early hours of the full moon day. It is considered to be the one of the most auspicious days of the year. Incidentally, this is the day when founder of the Sikh religion- Guru Nanakdev was born.

So, like the enthusiasts around the world, I too was waiting for the grand day to capture some precious moments. I even tried to test my photography skills a day before and this was the result post correction-

On the eventual day, I traveled a bit to look for a clear view of the moon. I was finally able to manage at a place. It was fascinating to see, how the colours and brightness of the moon kept changing as it moved on to journey upward from horizon to sky.

You can see for yourself-

It turned from red to yellow-

… and also bit brighter-

There is a lot of difference between what is seen through a naked eye and what is seen through a telephoto lens.  It is said that this supermoon was 14 percent larger and over 30 percent brighter. But that is not enough difference to notice by a common viewer through naked eye. See for yourself-

Well, and finally it shed all its colours to become full bright, still equally charming, first this-

…. and this-

Supermoons are quite common and appear on our sky once every 14 months on a average. This year (2016) itself had six super moons and  months of October, November and December are going to have three consecutive super moons, this year.

Will end the post with another post-correction view of the Supermoon-

You missed it? Don’t worry, we are going to have another supermoon on 14th December, slightly smaller than yesterday’s one. But talking of closer than yesterday? That will now be only in 2034 when moon will be another 64 kms closer than yesterday’s supermoon. Not a big deal. Isn’t it!