What you need to know about the supermoon

Youmay have heard about Monday's supermoon, but what exactly is it, and is it really all that super?

In order to understand the supermoon, you need to know a little bit about the orbital mechanics of our solar system, specificallyhow the sun, Earth and moon move.

Thedistance from Earth to the moon is an average of 384,000 km.However,the moon's orbit is elliptical as opposed to circular anditsdistance variesby roughly 30,000 km over the course of one month. That means that once a month the moon is at a position known as perigee, itsclosest to earth,and apogee, its farthest.

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Then there's something called a syzygy the lining up of celestial bodies, particularly the sun, Earth and moon. When that happens, we get a full moon.

Now, when the syzygy and the perigee coincide, you get the so-called supermoon. This happenson averagebetween four to six times per year.

How the supermoon got its name

While astronomers refer to this phenomenonas a perigee full moon, the term supermoon has gained a foothold in popular culture.

Astrologer Richard Noellesayshe coined the term supermoonin a 1979 article he wrote for Horoscope magazine. It described"a new or full moon which occurs with the Moon at or near (within 90 per centof) its closest approach to Earth in a given orbit."

The name didn't get much traction until 2011. However,since then it's become ubiquitous with the public eagerly anticipating the next supermoon.

What you can expect to see

In 2016, we'll get a total of three supermoons: one that passed on October 16, the second on Monday and the third on December 16.

But what makesMonday's supermoonso special is that it's the closest supermoon since January 26, 1948. It becomes full about two hours before perigee, at which time the moon will be roughly356,509 kilometres from Earth.

If you want to seethe supermoon, it occurs at 8:52 a.mET. The downside for people on the east coast is that the moon will have set there just after 8 a.m., so they won'tgetthe complete effect.Those on the west coast will get the full experience, so to speak. Still, the difference in distance will be minimal.

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Be warned: you may not actually notice a significantdifference between this month's full moon and any other. While asupermoon can be roughly 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter, to the casual observer, these differences may not be apparent.

A tip for enjoying the full splendour of the full moon: catch it on the horizon. Due to a trick of the eye, it will appearfar larger than when observed directly above.

The next super-close supermoonoccurs on November 25, 2034.

Supermoon wows skywatchers around the world

8 years ago

Duration 0:37

Phenomenon won't happen again until 2034