Supermoon Of 2017”Full Cold Moon” Will Rises on December 3

Supermoon 2017: How to see the ‘full cold moon’, the brightest of the year

It’s been a year since the visible supermoon last graced our skies, when the full moon was closest to the Earth. On Sunday (Dec. 3), the supermoon will have an encore and swing 26,500 km (approximately 16,500 miles) closer than usual.

Last year, the moon was the closest its been since 1948. That distance won’t be bested again until 2034. But this year’s supermoon will still appear 7% bigger and 16% brighter than the average full moon. As luck would have it, supermoons that occur during the winter months in the northern hemisphere also look larger than supermoons during other times of the year. That’s because the Earth is closer to the sun, and the sun’s gravity tugs the moon closer to the Earth.