Full and near moon July 13

View larger. | The eastern sky around sunset on July 11, 12, 13, and 14, 2022. The moon’s motion from night to night is due to its eastward motion in orbit around Earth. See the point marked as Anti-Sun? When the moon passes the Anti-Sun point, it’s at the crest of its full phase (most opposite the sun for this month). Full moon comes at 18:37 UTC (1:37 p.m. central) on July 13, 2022. Image via Guy Ottewell. Used with permission.

Originally published on July 11, 2022, at Guy Ottewell’s blog. Reprinted with permission.

A full and near moon is a supermoon

The moon will be full, and at its nearest to Earth for 2022, on Wednesday, July 13.

Twice or sometimes three times every year, there is a near-in moon (a supermoon. It’s defined as being a moon near its perigee, or closest point in orbit to Earth, at a time when the moon is also new or full.

This is made clear in our graph below of the moon’s distance from the Astronomical Calendar 2022.

The very wavy curve represents the moon’s varying distance over some months in 2022. The moon is shown, to scale, at its new and full moments (and, in blue, its first and last quarter moments). A broad smooth curve connects the new moons and another connects the full moons. Image via Guy Ottewell. Used with permission.

July 13 is the closest supermoon of 2022

The time of the July 13 perigee is 9:04 UTC, which by clocks on distorted summer time show as 10:04 a.m. in Britain, and 4:04 a.m. in North America’s Central time zone.

The perigee happens only 9.5 hours before the moment of full moon.

Supermoons can cause high tides

Tides are caused mainly by the moon. But the sun, vastly larger and vastly more distant, adds a pull about half as strong. This is why the highest amplitude of tides comes at these two near-in moons – the year’s closest new moon and the year’s closest full moon – in 2022, slightly less than half a year apart.

Where I live in the UK, there is also a heat wave rising. But its amplitude may have more human than lunar contribution.

Supermoons cause higher-than-usual tides. “The Thames will probably rise over our dock,” Guy said. Image via Guy Ottewell. Used with permission.

Bottom line: Learn more – and see charts – related to the July 13, 2022, nearest full moon of 2022 from master chart-maker Guy Ottewell.

Read more: Closest supermoon of 2022 on July 13

The post Full and near moon July 13 first appeared on EarthSky.