Blue Supermoon apparently generated solar energy for the Texas electric grid - FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth
Blue Supermoon apparently generated solar energy for the Texas electric grid
People who looked up to the sky got quite the show from a rare ‘ Blue Supermoon’ on Wednesday night.
A "Blue moon" is a term for the second full moon in a month and a supermoon is when there is a full moon at a time when the moon is at its closest point in its orbit around Earth.
Several FOX 4 viewers sent in their photos of the massive, bright ball in the sky.
Blue Supermoon in Plano
The next 'Blue Supermoon' will happen in 2037.
There was one unusual side effect to Wednesday night's moon that was recorded on ERCOT's website overnight.
Source: ERCOT website
The operator of the Texas power grid showed there was one megawatt of solar power being generated at 1:39 a.m.
Usually that number is 0 overnight.
The clear skies and a big, bright supermoon directly overhead it was apparently enough to generate just a little solar power.
Do you have pictures of last night's supermoon? Send them here.
Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: solar
Declining costs and government encouragement have resulted in a rapid increase in solar energy production in the United States over the past 10 years, although solar’s share remains small: 1.6 percent of all electricity generation in 2018. That rapid growth is projected to continue.