00:002026 has kick-started with a full moon covering the skies, and lighting up much of southern England.
00:06Many Kent residents have shared photos in awe of it, because it's not just any moon, but a wolf supermoon that appeared over the weekend.
00:13I asked experienced astronomer David Rees more about what a wolf supermoon actually is, and where its name came from.
00:20There is a period, and this really covers four months in each year, when the moon is significantly closer to the Earth than at other times.
00:33Now that changes in terms of where it occurs during the year, because of the way in which the orbit of the moon around the Earth changes naturally with time.
00:44It works a bit like a spinning top, and it thus precesses with time in terms of position.
00:50It is supposed that at this time of year, the wolves are getting very hungry, running out of game to catch and eat, so they do a lot of howling at night.
00:58So the long nights, the wolves are howling in the background, causing quite a bit of chaos.
01:03At this particular year, the full moon is actually very close, or that much closer to the Earth, about 10% closer to the Earth.
01:11So it's 20% brighter than average, and obviously a little bit bigger in the sky, so that's why it's called the supermoon.
01:19This streak of supermoons has come to an end, but not before many people snap pictures of the spectacle, gracing our skies.
01:26This footage shared on Facebook depicts the huge moon rising above some ships off the shore of Sheerness in Kent.
01:32This photo also depicts the supermoon above the iconic landmark Dover Castle.
01:36Hopefully, the next supermoons will shine just as brightly over Kent too.
01:40Kai Wei for KMTV.
01:41Kai Wei for KMTV.
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