While supermoons are beautiful, they are fairly common occurrences. They occur when the moon is in extremely close proximity to earth’s orbit, and therefore appear much larger.
Last year Vancouver witnessed the largest supermoon in 70 years, and there were a number of incredible astral displays this past year. Most recently, Vancouver was treated to a stunning supermoon on the first day of 2018.
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Indeed, these events make the luminescent orb appear roughly 14% bigger and 30% brighter than typical full moons. Now, an extremely rare supermoon is set to shine in Metro Vancouver skies on January 31st.
Blue Supermoon
A phenomenon known as a “blue supermoon” will light up the city’s skies. The moon won’t actually be blue, because the term simply refers to the second full moon in a month. With that being said, the event is still very rare. Not only is it the second full moon in the month, but it is the second supermoon in January, making it very special. In fact, the display only occurs about once every 2 and a half years.
In order to see the moon most clearly, stargazers should opt to travel outside of city limits; light pollution from the city lights obscures the view. In addition, higher elevations provide optimal vantage points to avoid lights below.
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