65° and Clear
Image
Photo by Darlene Wong Cancell. The moon is reflected over water in Waning Gibbous phase on the evening of Monday, January 9, 2023.
1-09-2023 11:03pm
Monday's Micromoon - Opposite of A Supermoon - but Still Impressive
Darlene Cancell
Editor
Although the new year's first full Moon was on January 6, 2023, the Moon three days later still looks big and impressive.
On Monday, January 9th, sky observers could find the Moon in the phase called, Waning Gibbous. The Waning Gibbous describes the phase when the lit part of the moon shrinks from 99.9 percent illumination to 50.1 percent illumination.
As large and bright as the Moon may appear, January's moon is a Micromoon - the opposite of a Supermoon. A Micromoon occurs when the moon is at its farthest distance (apogee) from earth. In contrast, a Supermoon occurs when the full Moon looks exceptionally large due to being at its closest point (perigee) to the earth.
