This year, the full moons of October, November and December all take place when the moon is at its closest point of approach in its orbit around Earth — a so-called supermoon.
The next supermoon will be November’s full Beaver Moon, which is expected to reach the peak of its full phase on the morning of Monday, Nov. 14, at 8:52 a.m. EST (1352 GMT), but it will appear full to the casual observer in the day before and after the main event. It is the second of three consecutive supermoon full moons for 2016. Live webcasts of this supermoon begin Sunday night (Nov. 13) and run through Monday. Read our Supermoon Webcast Guide for details.
This full moon will be not only the closest and brightest supermoon of 2016but also the largest since 1948, Bob Berman, an astronomer at the Slooh Community Observatory, told Space.com. What’s more, the full moon won’t come this close to Earth again until Nov. 25, 2034, according to a statement from NASA. The Slooh Community Observatory will offer a live broadcast for November’s full moon on Nov. 13 at 8 p.m. EST (0100 GMT on Nov. 14). You can also watch the supermoon live on Space.com, courtesy of Slooh.
A full moon occurs each month when the sun, Earth and moon line up, with the moon on the side of the Earth opposite to the sun. The term “supermoon” is used to describe a full moon at its perigee — the point in the moon’s orbit when it is closest to Earth, causing it to appear up to 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter in the sky, NASA officials said in the statement.
A comparison of the Moon at perigee (its closest to Earth, at left) and at apogee (its farthest from us). The change in distance makes the full Moon look 14% larger at perigee than at apogee. and nearly 30% larger in area.
Credit: Sky and Telescope, Laurent Laveder
Source: Space.com
