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| Photo by Ben Lawry, Moon Rising |
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| Photo by David McNew, Redondo Beach, CA |
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| Photo by Stan Honda, Airplane, NY |
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| Photo by Joel Kowsky, Washington, DC |
Supermoon — the scientific term is “perigean full
moon”
On November 14, 2016, the moon was perigee — its closest point in relation to
Earth — at exactly 1:23 a.m. Hawaii time. At 3:52 a.m., the moon reached the
crest of its monthly full phase.
At its closest point, about 221,524 miles away, the moon appeared about 7 percent bigger and nearly 15 percent brighter than a typical
full moon, according to Astronomy Magazine Senior Editor Richard Talcott.
The moon has not been this close to Earth since Jan. 26, 1948,
when it approached within 221,494 miles. The moon will not orbit this close to Earth again until Nov. 25,
2034, when the distance between the two will shrink to 221,485 miles.
Monday’s supermoon was distinguishable by its
brightness. It appeared to be at its largest just before dawn — a common
optical illusion created by its seeming proximity to objects on the horizon.
