The last supermoon of the year will shine bright this week, when it reaches peak illumination at 6:15 p.m. EST, on Dec. 4, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac.
This full 'cold moon,' will be the third and last of the year and is expected to orbit 221,965 miles from Earth. It will appear full on both Wednesday and Friday nights as well. If weather permits, this visual spectacle will make it perfect for catching photos or simply admiring a gorgeous autumnal evening sky.
Due to the optical effect known as the moon illusion, the full moon can seem huge when rising behind distant objects on the horizon. A supermoon appears especially impressive.
When the moon’s orbit brings it closer to Earth than usual, the cosmic combo is called a supermoon. As this happens, the moon can appear slightly bigger and brighter than normal. Supermoons can appear up to 14% larger and 30% brighter than the faintest moon of the year.
"Different publications use slightly different thresholds for deciding when a full moon is close enough to the Earth to qualify as a supermoon," NASA said. "Because the orbit of the moon is not a perfect circle, the moon is sometimes closer to the Earth than at other times during its orbit."
