Say farewell to summer and to this year’s series of ‘supermoons’! Say your goodbyes by looking for Monday night’s bigger-than-usual full moon in the sky, or on a display screen near you.
This is only considered a supermoon because its full phase occurs at 9:38 p.m. ET, not long after the moon passes at the closest point in its orbit around Earth. That makes it several percentage points bigger and brighter than the average full moon. A similar situation was in effect for the full moons of July and August. In fact, last month’s supermoon was the most super of the 2014’s full moons.
Bob Berman, an astronomer associated with the Slooh virtual observatory, says the Harvest Moon ranks as the year’s most famous full moon.
“Yet it’s bathed in myth and misconception, even without all the extra ‘supermoon’ business.”