Adrian Dening's Stars Over Somerset

Saturday, 27 December 2025 14:31

Monday 29th December 2025 to Sunday 4th January 2026

Remember that in space, nothing is a perfect circle. Orbits are never perfectly round and this is particularly noticeable in the case of our own Moon. The point in the Moon's orbit when it is closest to us is known as "perigee" and the furthest point is called "apogee".

On Saturday 3rd January we have the first Full Moon of the year and this particular one is referred to as being a "Supermoon" as it occurs very close to perigee. The moon will appear 30% brighter and 14% larger than it does at apogee, when it is then known as a "Micromoon".

If you venture outside just as it's getting dark on 3rd, say around 5pm, the Moon will have risen above the horizon towards the north east and planet Jupiter will be just below it. As it will be close to the horizon, the Moon will look artificially very large - this is nothing to do with it being at perigee, rather that optical effect known as "Moon illusion" where your brain plays a trick on you when viewing things close to the sky line.

You won't see many stars at dusk, but one of the brightest stars in the night sky called Capella should already be visible directly above the Moon.

Coincidentally, the Earth reaches perihelion on 3rd, which is the point when we are closest to the Sun during our orbit around it. I assure you that it won't feel 30% warmer that day and the Sun won't appear 14% larger though as the distances are much further than our Moon unfortunately.

www.starsoversomerset.com

Screenshots courtesy of Stellarium