Head outside Tuesday night to see the superest supermoon of 2020
Head outside on Tuesday, April 7 around 7:30 pm to see the “supermoon!”
The term “supermoon” refers to a full moon that occurs when the Moon is closer to Earth than usual during its slightly oval path around our planet. And so, tonight, the Moon will look a little bigger and a little brighter than a normal full moon.
When the Moon is at the closest point to Earth in its monthly orbit, it is said to be at “perigee.” A “supermoon” is simply a full moon that occurs within a day of the Moon being at perigee.
On April 7, the moon is at perigee at 6:08 PM EDT and the full moon occurs less than five hours later, at 10:35 PM EDT. The moon will be just 221,773 miles away at perigee this month. When the full moon occurs less than five hours later, the Moon will still be a mere 221,851 miles from Earth, making for the “superest” “supermoon” of 2020. At this time, the Moon will be about 7 percent bigger than an average full moon.
If you get any great photos of the "supermoon," be sure to share them with us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!
Liberty Science Center is temporarily closed, but you can bring LSC home with you over on our "LSC in the House" page! Conduct experiments, explore the galaxy, meet our animals, and get inspired about science and tech without ever leaving your living room.
