November 14th’s Supermoon Will Be The Brightest For The Next 68 Years
November’s supermoon will be the brightest moon of 2016. Also called a “Beaver Moon”, this moon will be the closest moon to Earth for the next 68 years. The next time a moon will be this close is November 25, 2034.
“Supermoons” occur when the moon is closer to the earth than average, 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter according to NASA. They refer to November’s supermoon as an “extra-super” moon because the moon not only is full on the same day that it’s closer-to-Earth side (perigee) rotates in orbit, but it “becomes” full within 2-hours of this event.
Since the moon’s orbit is elliptical, one side (perigee) is about 30,000 miles closer to Earth than the other (apogee). The word syzygy, in addition to being useful in word games, is the scientific name for when the Earth, sun, and moon line up as the moon orbits Earth. When perigee-syzygy of the Earth-moon-sun system occurs and the moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the sun, we get a perigee moon or more commonly, a supermoon!
Tl;dr: this moon will be extra bright and pretty, and it’s also still warm enough to get outside and enjoy it (with a thermos of hot chocolate). Mark your calendars for 7am Eastern time, when the moon will be brightest.