The Biggest And Brightest Supermoon In Over 70 Years Is Coming
Is it just me or does it seem like there have been a lot more supermoon instances lately? I honestly don’t remember all of these supermoons growing up, but then again my brother and I had a pretty early bedtime, so who knows?
This year we’ve been lucky because the full moons this month, last month, and next month all happened when the moon is at its closest point of approach in its orbit around Earth, which makes them all supermoons. They generally look about 15% larger and 30% brighter than other full moons.
Supermoon is not actually the technical term for these occurrences, but rather a name astrologers came up with. The true term astronomers use is perigee full moon.
Last month’s supermoon took place on the 16th of October, and November’s supermoon is expected to peak on the 13th - 14th. This one is a bigger deal than normal though, it’s a ‘record breaking’ moon, as it will be the biggest and brightest supermoon since 1948.
NASA estimates the next time a full moon gets this close to Earth will be November 25th, 2034.
If you want to catch a glimpse of this month’s supermoon, earthsky.org provides the exact time of full moon for North American time zones: “the moon will reach the crest of its full phase on November 14 at 1352 UTC. That translates to 9:52 a.m. AST, 8:52 a.m. EST, 7:52 a.m. CST, 6:52 a.m. MST, 5:52 a.m. PST.”
But if you can’t get outside at the specified time for your area, no worries, “The moon will look plenty full and bright all night long on both nights – November 13 and 14 – as it rises in the east around sunset, climbs highest up around midnight, and then sets in the west at or near sunset,” according to EarthSky.
Will you keep your kids up late, or wake them up early to see this month’s supermoon? Keep in mind the next one that happens, they’ll be 18 years older (and so will you!).