STORY BY ANTHONY CARRUBBA

As the sweltering summer recedes, March approaches with the complex prospects of autumn in tow. The days grow colder and shorter, typically inducing melancholy in many as the winter approaches, though this may prove itself a welcome reprieve at rst, given the extreme weather of the past few months. The beautiful colours of spring and summer wither and die, cascading down in waves of brilliant oranges and yellows. Cosy autumn foods and winter fashion makes a return, though at the cost of daylight and warm evenings. It’s a contradictory time of year, and 2020 will be no exception, with at least two additional twists.

On March 10th, and again on April 8th, our night sky will be illuminated by a ‘Supermoon’. Round and distinct, like any other full Moon, these celestial phenomena are also uniquely illustrious. The distance between us and the Moon, our eldest and most familiar satellite, varies with each orbit. An old friend, it drifts near and far, just like the ocean tides it pushes and pulls, always faithfully returning.

At the intersection of its closest point, the perigee, and a full Moon, we get a ‘Supermoon’. Referred to by astronomers as a perigean full Moon, this occurrence sees our lunar friend at its clearest and brightest. Being closer to our planet than at any other time, the Moon exerts a greater force on the Earth’s oceans than usual, noticeably affecting tidal activity.

Here in Australia, we receive our Autumn early in the year. In the Northern Hemisphere, however, particularly in the United States, autumn comes later, coinciding with Halloween. A time when supernatural beings are believed to be most active, and a period historically dedicated to remembrance of the dead dead, autumn is doubly cold and melancholic for many.

All Hallows’ Eve is less of a tradition down under, in no small part due to our warm October weather. Still, with our Autumn just starting, and the Supermoons on the horizon, it’s difficult not to attach some significance to these events.

In a time of year when everything grows darker and icier, it’s poetic that our night skies should be illuminated by the brightest Moons. Of course, it’s really the light of the sun just reflecting off the surface of that natural satellite, but the cool, silvery glow of the Moon in its fullest splendour can be an almost alien sight, especially because we’re usually asleep for it.

This Autumn, stay up, rug up and camp out to enjoy the season’s exceptional Supermoons.