The year is coming to an end soon but before it does, we all get to witness the supermoon of 2017 tomorrow night, December 3.
The idea of supermoon, called perigee-syzygy, means when the moon, while orbiting around the Earth, will come as close to Earth as it can and will appear slightly bigger and brighter than usual.
As NASA explains, when the moon is in the perigee position, it is up to 14% closer to Earth than it is at apogee position, which is the farthest distance from Earth commonly known as micromoon. The moon also shines up to 30% more moonlight on to Earth, along with causing stronger tides and influencing Earth’s weather.
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According to Accu Weather, the full moon would rise on Sunday evening soon after sunset and will be visible all night. Though the moon will be closest to Earth at 4 a.m. on Monday, an optical illusion called ‘moon illusion’ will make the moon appear bigger when it is closed to the horizon as compared to when the moon is high in the sky, making it the ideal time to observe the phenomenon where the difference can be easily noticed.
However, the supermoon expected to occur tomorrow won’t be as impressive and even according to an astrophysicist, Jackie Faherty, people might not even notice it. “To the untrained eye, the moon will look no different. Even for the trained eye, it will not be anything to speak of,” he told Business Insider.
The next two supermoons will be witnessed in January 2018, likely on January 1 and on January 31. The January 31 moon will also be a blue moon and part of the world will also experience a complete lunar eclipse.