Space
Third and Final Supermoon of the Year to Light the Night Skies as a Harvest Moon
Catherine Griffin
First Posted: Sep 08, 2014 12:51 PM EDT
The third and final supermoon of the year will make its appearance tonight on Monday, Sept. 8. Barring any clouds, the full harvest moon is set to be a spectacular sight to see, so be sure to look toward the night skies.
The moon will officially reach its full phase when it reaches the spot in the sky opposite from the sun. This will occur tonight at 9:38 p.m. EDT, according to Discovery. Because this full moon is the one nearest to the autumn equinox, it earns the title of "Harvest Moon."
While the moon will reach its full phase in the evening, though, the moon was at its closest point to Earth just 22 hours earlier. On Sunday, Sept. 7 at 11:38 p.m., the moon was just 222,698 miles away from Earth, according to National Geographic. This will cause tonight's full moon to appear about 15 percent brighter and about 7 percent larger than a regular moon.
A "supermoon" occurs whenever there's an alignment between a full moon phase with perigree. The moon's perigree is its shortest distance from Earth in the roughly month-long lunar cycle and supermoons usually occur each year. That said, this Harvest Moon will be the third of three supermoons that have already occurred this year, including one in July and one in August.
This evening, make sure to look to the skies. This will be the last supermoon this year, and it's likely to be a spectacular show that you don't want to miss.
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First Posted: Sep 08, 2014 12:51 PM EDT
The third and final supermoon of the year will make its appearance tonight on Monday, Sept. 8. Barring any clouds, the full harvest moon is set to be a spectacular sight to see, so be sure to look toward the night skies.
The moon will officially reach its full phase when it reaches the spot in the sky opposite from the sun. This will occur tonight at 9:38 p.m. EDT, according to Discovery. Because this full moon is the one nearest to the autumn equinox, it earns the title of "Harvest Moon."
While the moon will reach its full phase in the evening, though, the moon was at its closest point to Earth just 22 hours earlier. On Sunday, Sept. 7 at 11:38 p.m., the moon was just 222,698 miles away from Earth, according to National Geographic. This will cause tonight's full moon to appear about 15 percent brighter and about 7 percent larger than a regular moon.
A "supermoon" occurs whenever there's an alignment between a full moon phase with perigree. The moon's perigree is its shortest distance from Earth in the roughly month-long lunar cycle and supermoons usually occur each year. That said, this Harvest Moon will be the third of three supermoons that have already occurred this year, including one in July and one in August.
This evening, make sure to look to the skies. This will be the last supermoon this year, and it's likely to be a spectacular show that you don't want to miss.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone