Brightest moon in almost 69 years lights up sky around globe

The supermoon behind the Chrysler Building in New York, Nov. 14, 2016. But what makes it so super?

It will also be appearing nearly identically as large on Tuesday but it won’t make a similar approach again after that until November 25, 2034.

This is the closest the full moon has been to earth in 68 years, but it is not the closest on record.

The next comparable event will be in 2034, when the Moon will come even closer, by 64km, to Earth. But clouds in the night sky could make it harder to see. During these events, the sunlight passing through the Earth’s atmosphere is refracted in a way that when the Earth’s shadow overtakes the supersized moon, a coppery-orange color appears. This happens about once a month, so hopefully isn’t that unfamiliar to most people.

The last time there was a Supermoon this close to Earth was in January, 1948.

The moon’s orbit around Earth is slightly elliptical so sometimes it is closer and sometimes it’s farther away. The so-called Supermoon on November 14, 2016, will be the closest a full moon will have been to Earth since 1948. Astronomers refer to a supermoon as a perigee full moon.

The supermoon sets behind the CN tower in Toronto on Monday, Nov. 14, 2016. “The closest point is a perigee”.

The moon doesn’t get much bigger and brighter than it did Monday morning.

But the holiday island was overcast and rainy when the moon rose, with surfers deciding not to take to the waters.

It has also been referred to as the full Frost Moon, a name coined by Native Americans.

“But regardless of how big and bright it looks, the Moon really is a lovely object to look at”.

Since the moon’s orbit changes from time to time, the perigree also varies. I wanted to compare the visible size of the supermoon to another moonrise. If you treat it like normal low light shooting, the moon will be blown out. But regardless of how big and bright it looks, the moon really is a attractive object to look at. “You don’t have to stay up all night to see it, unless you really want to!” says Noah Petro of NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission.

What’s the Best Time to watch Supermoon in UK?

“I’m always pleased for people to get their binoculars out and look up at the craters and the seas”.

This article first appeared on The Conversation.