Big moon dazzles the night skies

Cape Town 120505 The Supermoon made its appearance in the city bowl this evening. The moon is at its biggest and brightest as it passes closer to the earth than usual. Picture: Gareth Smit

Cape Town 120505 The Supermoon made its appearance in the city bowl this evening. The moon is at its biggest and brightest as it passes closer to the earth than usual. Picture: Gareth Smit

Published May 6, 2012

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Paris - A super-full and extra-bright moon dazzled the night skies this weekend as the lunar body swept along the low point of its elliptical orbit around the Earth.

The so-called lunar perigree brings the moon about 50,000 kilometres closer to the Earth than when it's at the farthest point of its oval orbit.

When a full moon coincides with this low point, as it did overnight from Saturday to Sunday, it appears especially bright and large, with observers often able to make out craters and other lunar features in clearer detail than normal.

Nasa says the perigree full moon appears about 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than other full moons in 2012.

Super-full perigree moons occur about once a year on average. - Sapa-AFP

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