Anyone casually looking at the moon next week is probably going to think it’s pretty big in the night sky. What could it mean?
The moon looks bigger in the night sky because it is in perigee, or the point where the moon reaches its closest point to Earth along its orbit, according to NASA. Though full moons that reach perigee are referred to as supermoons, this upcoming moment of perigee corresponds with a waning gibbous.
The upcoming moment of perigee is anticipated for Sept 10, according to the Old Farmers’ Almanac.
When the moon reaches perigee, it is, on average, about 225,623 miles away from Earth, according to London’s Royal Museums Greenwich, which operates the Royal Observatory. The moon’s regular distance from Earth is 238,855 miles.
The next supermoon (and a full moon that reaches perigee), called the Harvest Moon, is scheduled to appear on Oct. 7, EarthSky wrote.
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