Image Credit: AP Photo/Bullit Marquez
July 13, 2014 - 12:59 PM
If the full moon Saturday night appeared unusually big to you there is a reason. It was a “supermoon”.
That's the nickname for full moons that happen when our celestial neighbor is relatively close to Earth.
That distance varies because the moon follows an elliptical orbit. When it's close and full, it appears bigger and brighter than normal, although in fact the difference can be hard to detect.
When you see a supermoon close to the horizon it may seem huge, but that's just an illusion caused by its position in the sky.
Two other full moons this summer, on Aug. 10 and Sept. 9, are also supermoons.
It's not all that unusual to have a supermoon. There were three in a row last year.
News from © The Associated Press, 2014