Star-gazers set for final supermoon of 2015
Star-gazers are gearing up for the final supermoon of 2015, which will occur Monday night through early Tuesday.
A supermoon occurs when a new or full moon is at its closest to the Earth, making it appear much larger and brighter than usual. This is the sixth supermoon of 2015, according to EarthSky.
Tonight’s occurence, however, will be less spectacular than last month’s rare supermoon eclipse, which was the first time that a supermoon had coincided with a lunar eclipse since 1982.
EarthSky notes that the full moon on Monday and Tuesday is also the Northern Hemisphere Hunter’s Moon. The Hunter’s Moon is the full moon after the Harvest Moon, which refers to the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox. This year’s Harvest Moon occurred Sept. 27 to Sept. 28 on the night of the supermoon eclipse.