When the full moon rises tomorrow, it will be the first—and last—super moon of 2017. Managing editor Tami Roleff explains why it’s a super moon and when to watch it…
Due to a little-understood optical effect called the moon illusion, the full moon can seem huge when rising behind distant objects on the horizon. A super moon could be especially impressive. Because the moon’s orbit is not perfectly circular, the moon is sometimes closer to the Earth, a point called the Perigee. When a full moon coincides with the perigee, it’s a super moon. The super moon will appear to be 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than a regular full moon. Sunday’s full moon will rise at 5:08 p.m. and set Monday morning at 7:30.
