Astronomical Museum touts supermoon and meteor showers in July

Taipei, June 26 (CNA) There will be several promising celestial events in July, including the biggest super full moon of the year and five meteor showers, according to the Taipei Astronomical Museum on Saturday.

The supermoon will occur on July 14, the second and last of the year, peaking at 2:38 a.m., the museum said.

Around this time, the Moon will also reach perigee – the point in its elliptical orbit where it is closest to Earth – 357,417 kilometers from the planet, about 8% closer than usual, the museum added. .

Although the celestial event has no precise astronomical definition, a super full moon is generally understood as when the moon becomes full on the same day as its perigee, or when a full moon occurs within 360 ​​000 km from Earth, explained the museum.

Additionally, four small-to-medium sized meteor showers will peak between July 28-30 – Southern Delta Aquariids, Alpha Capricorns, Alpha Pisces Australids, and Gamma Draconids.

The most prolific of these are the southern delta aquarids, which could produce 25 shooting stars per hour, the museum said, adding that the best time to catch meteor showers is between 10 p.m. and sunrise. .

Meanwhile, the museum has encouraged astronomy enthusiasts to also follow the Perseids – one of the biggest meteor showers of the year along with the Quadrantids in January and the Geminids in December – which becomes active on July 7 and peaked on August 13. .