The evening of December 3^rd and the early morning of December 4^th are big days for scientists. The only visible supermoon of 2017 will begin to show close to the Earth’s horizon at sunset on Sunday, December 3^rd .   According to Allison Simon,  MHS Honors Earth Science teacher, “a supermoon occurs once a year during perigee.” Perigee is when a new or full moon reaches its closest distance to the earth in its orbit, which is about 226,000 miles away.  When this happens, the moon appears larger and brighter than normal, especially during the winter. The supermoon is an incredible phenomenon, and it is definitely worth waking up early to experience. Scientists say that the best time to see it is around 3:45 am on Monday, as that is where the moon will be brightest; however, it will still appear larger and brighter until sunrise Monday morning.

Although the supermoon will be visible everywhere you look, the best places to view it are where you can notice a difference in size. Landmarks such as mountains or well-known buildings assist in doing so. Great places to see the super moon in our area are Riverview Farm Park and Yorktown Beach.  Where ever you choose to view this amazing event, it is important to see while you still can because according to  Simon, “the super moon will get smaller in the future because the moon is pulling away from the earth by centimeters a year.”

For more information from NASA on this event visit What’s a Super Moon?