Closest Supermoon since 1948

LOCK HAVEN – The evening sky on Nov. 14, 2016 offered a unique view of a ‘Supermoon’ showing a larger than normal version of planet Earth’s natural satellite. Here is a photo of the moon shortly after it broke over the horizon reflecting on the West Branch of the Susquehanna as it tries to hide behind some early evening cloud cover.

This Supermoon will be the closest a Full Moon has been to Earth since Jan. 26, 1948. The next time a Full Moon is even closer to Earth will be on Nov. 25, 2034.

According to NASA, the moon’s orbit around Earth is slightly elliptical so sometimes it is closer and sometimes it’s farther away. When the moon is full as it makes its closest pass to Earth it is known as a supermoon. At perigee — the point at which the moon is closest to Earth — the moon can be as much as 14 percent closer to Earth than at apogee, when the moon is farthest from our planet. The full moon appears that much larger in diameter and because it is larger shines 30 percent more moonlight onto the Earth.

So if you missed it this time around, you only have 18 years to wait for the next one.