Moon to be largest and brightest this weekend
The moon rises over the Washington Monument. The biggest and brightest full moon of the year will appear this weekend, as it pulls closer to earth.
The moon will be the largest and brightest all year on Saturday night.
The reason is that the moon will be closer to the our planet than during any other time during the year – a phenomenon known as 'lunar perigee.'
Coincidentally, the perigee falls on a day with a full moon.
The confluence of both events creates a so called 'supermoon.'
“The timing is almost perfect,” says NASA, according to the Washington Post.
According to CTV News, the moon will become full just two minutes after it reaches its closest point to earth at 11:35 p.m. ET.
At its closest point, the moon is 221,802 miles away from earth, making it about 16 percent brighter than the average full moon.
Space reported that on Nov. 28 of this year, the full moon will reach 'apogee,' the farthest place from our planet, making the full moon look dim and small.
Tides will also be higher than normal during perigee as the moon's pull will be stronger.
Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you. We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
Make a gift today, and you’ll help us unlock a matching gift of $67,000!