For sky watcher , the end of 2016 is land some excellent lunar viewing opportunities . From Oct. 16 through the ending of the year there are three supermoon sightings and the one coming up on Nov. 14 might be the well of the year .
Because of the moon ’s elliptical orbit , one side of the orbit — the perigee — is about 30,000 mile closer to the Earth than the other side of the orbit , called the apogee . When the sun , Earth , and moonlight bank line up , it ’s shout syzygy ( toss that in your back pocket for a guaranteedJeopardy!win someday ) . AsNASA explains , " When perigee - syzygy of the Earth - moon - sunshine system occurs and the Sun Myung Moon is on the diametric side of the Earth from the sun , we get a perigee synodic month or more usually , a supermoon ! "
A supermoon is n’t all that uncommon , but on Nov. 14 the lunation is within approximately two hours of perigee , meaning that the supermoon is not just the enceinte and brilliant supermoon of the twenty-first century , it is going to be the biggest in almost seven decades . The last prison term the moon could be see at this size was January of 1948 . It wo n’t come this close to the globe again until Nov. 25 , 2034 , according to NASA . That means , at a minimum , you should collapse start the screen and take a look .
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But it ’d be much better get somewhere away from the visible radiation of the city and enjoy a pretty special sight on the 14th , whichis expectedto peak around 8:52 am ET . A supermoon can be up to 14 percent bigger and 30 percent bright than an culmination full moon , but it can be voiceless to tell at times . NASA notes that if you ’re looking straight up with no frame of citation , the supermoon could look just like any other moon . However , if you get it near the horizon , it create a " lunation thaumaturgy " that can make the lunar month look larger . " When the moon is near the celestial horizon it can look artificially large when viewed through trees , building , or other foreground object , " NASA write . " The effect is an ocular illusion , but that fact does n’t take away from the experience . "
The following supermoon is precisely one calendar month later on , on Dec. 14 . It wo n’t be as cock-a-hoop , but it ’ll be bright enough to reduce the visibility of the geminid meteor shower , often one of the best shooting star exhibitor of the year . Do n’t be lulled into ignoring this becauseagoodseriesofastronomical viewing opportunities this fall , this is going to be a pretty special viewing .
UPDATE : Take a expression atthe best picture of Monday ’s supermoon .
h / tScience Alert
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