Mid-Autumn Festival Night, Vietnam Welcomes Bright Orange Supermoon

(NLDO) - The supermoon on the Mid-Autumn Festival night will be the last chance of the year for you to see the Moon, which is both magically orange and gigantic in size.

According to NASA, the September full moon will continue the series of four beautiful supermoons of 2024 (August, September, October, November), which is when the full moon coincides with the time it is closest to Earth in its elliptical orbit, making us see this celestial body larger than usual.

Not to mention, some places in the world at certain times can see the Mid-Autumn Festival supermoon with a burnt orange color or a penumbral lunar eclipse.

Supermoon on the full moon night of August 2024 from the angle taken from Ho Chi Minh City, with a roundness of more than 99% similar to what you will see on the Mid-Autumn Festival night of September 17 - Photo: ANH THU

According to Time and Date, in Vietnam, the Mid-Autumn supermoon will reach its absolute fullness at 9:34 a.m. on September 18.

Therefore, both nights of September 17 (Mid-Autumn Festival) and September 18 are favorable for viewing the supermoon in its most beautiful state.

On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, September 17, the supermoon will reach a roundness of more than 99%. You will not be able to feel the difference with the absolute full moon if you just look at it with the naked eye.

The full moon of September 2023 is burnt orange as seen from Indiana - USA - Photo: SPACE.COM

However, if you have a telescope or a suitable camera to see the impact craters on the celestial body, you can see a little darkness still covering some of the craters located on the left edge of the hemisphere facing Earth.

Mid-Autumn Festival night and after is also an opportunity for you to see the last burnt orange supermoon of the year.

The moon usually hangs low in the summer, which means that in the early evening you'll have to view it through a thick layer of atmosphere, making it appear larger and more orange than usual.

It's a phenomenon called the "moon mirage", not the moon changing color.

This mirage can occur at other times of the year, however summer air is often more polluted, especially in places affected by wildfire smoke.

That combined with the moon rising while it is still low makes the moons of May, June, July, August, and September often look more orange than usual, with the deepest orange usually falling in August.

As the moon rises higher towards midnight, it will gradually regain its true color.

So, if you want to see the most beautiful orange supermoon in the Mid-Autumn Festival, you should hope for good weather in the early evening.

In addition, most of the Americas, all of Europe, Africa and part of Asia will be able to observe another special phenomenon, the "penumbral lunar eclipse", from 7:41 a.m. to 11:47 a.m. on September 18, Vietnam time.

Of course, we wouldn't be able to see this phenomenon, because it was morning in Vietnam at that time.

A penumbral lunar eclipse is very different from a blood moon (total lunar eclipse). Viewers in these areas will only see a mysterious dark shadow passing across the Moon for a few hours.

For everyone else in the world, there’s still a chance to see the supermoon if you miss it this time. There will be two more supermoons in 2024, in October and November, with October’s supermoon being the biggest of the year.

However, during these two months, the Moon will regain its clear color, except for a brief period when it first rises and may take on a light pink-orange hue.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/dem-trung-thu-viet-nam-don-sieu-trang-cam-ruc-ro-196240917084920098.htm