BENGALURU: Today (Monday) is when you can watch the moon really up close. Known as the supermoon, this rare phenomenon is occurring after 68 years. If you miss this, then you will have to wait another 18 years.
On Monday, the moon will be the closest a full moon has been to Earth since January 26, 1948. The next time a full moon will get even closer to Earth will be on November 25, 2034, according to NASA. Unlike the eclipse, the supermoon phenomenon is safe to watch with the naked eye.
The term supermoon is used to describe a full moon at its perigee - the point in the moon’s orbit when it is closest to Earth, causing it to appear up to 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter in the sky. On Monday, the moon will be at a distance of 356,511 km from the Earth on its elliptical orbit, resulting in the largest apparent size.