WILMINGTON — Sunday evening, the stars are set to align so that earthlings can witness the first, and last, supermoon of the year.
A supermoon is the serendipitous occurrence of the moon reaching its closest point of orbit around the earth at its fullest phase.
The moon will reach its fullest point at 5:30 p.m. EST on Dec. 3, according to Naval moonrise charts.
During the moon’s closest pass to the earth, it will appear up to 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter according to NASA.
“What that means is it’s in its perigee. Which means its closest in its orbit,” said Katherine Hunt, manager for the Ingram Planetarium at Sunset Beach.
“The best time to view a supermoon is right when the moon is rising,” Hunt said. “Once it gets high in the sky you won’t notice as much.”
She suggests that if you want to get a good look at the supermoon, its best to pick out a spot ahead of time.
“Right as the sun is setting, get a good sight of where its rising,” she said.
The moon rises in the East, so be sure to find a place with a clear horizon.
“The flatter the ground, rather the more unobstructed it is, the better the perspective is going to be for you. If you’ve got trees or houses or anything that might not be the best for you.”
It will appear mostly full Saturday and Monday as well, so if you miss the full super moon, you can still catch it bright in the sky this weekend.
“Anytime, any moon will appear large on the horizon as you see it rising,” she said. “The difference with the super moon is its a bit brighter.”
