November might be known as a dreary month, especially this election year, but on the bright side this month will also feature a special full moon. And it’s coming up soon.
The full moon this Monday, November 14, will look like an extra-bright spotlight in the sky— that’s because the moon won’t be this close to Earth again for another 18 years. It will be a notable “supermoon”, as the last time it looked this big was 1948, according to Space.com.
Astronomers call the closest-to-the-Earth moment the perigee. What makes November 14 special is that the moon “becomes full within about two hours of perigee—arguably making it an extra-super moon,” NASA explained. The moon only appears full from Earth when our planet is between the sun and the moon. But since the moon’s orbit has an elliptical shape, sometimes it is closer to Earth than other times.
This year we will actually experience three supermoons. Besides November’s, there was one on October 16 and will be another on December 14, although this month’s is the closest we will get to the moon.
The full moon won’t appear this big again until until the year 2034. So if you miss Monday’s supermoon, mark your calendar for November 25 of 2034.
