🌅 The Biggest and Brightest Supermoon This Year

SOURCE

AstroPixels.com

WHAT TO KNOW

• The biggest and brightest full moon of the year rises today, marking the second of three supermoons we’ll see in 2025. At its closest point, the Moon will be roughly 221,818 miles away from us, by far the closest full moon of the year. Tonight’s supermoon will peak at around 5:30 pm EST, though observers around the world can still see a mostly full moon each night until November 8.

WHY IT MATTERS

• Supermoons occur when the Moon’s egg-shaped orbit of the Earth reaches its closest point—known as the Moon’s “perigee”—at the same time as a full moon. When this happens, the Moon can appear up to 14% larger and 30% brighter than on a usual night.

CONNECT THE DOTS

• The term “supermoon” was first coined by American astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979, who used it as a way to describe any new or full moon happening within 10% of the Moon’s perigee. Following Nolle’s definition, the Earth would experience a whopping eight supermoons this year. However, Nolle’s definition has largely been abandoned and the term is now used to describe full moons that are simply closer than usual, leading some astronomers to disregard the idea as “hype” rather than a legitimate celestial phenomenon.