What? Did somebody say the biggest and brightest moon to rise in almost 69 years? A supermoon is when a full moon is at its closest point to Earth during the lunar orbit. The distance between the moon and Earth changes because the moon doesn’t orbit in a perfect circle, owing to the gravitational forces of Earth pulling on it.

In addition, the Earth’s surface is 70% ocean, which creates tide variations. This year, slightly higher tides developed as a result of the November 14 supermoon, NASA scientist for Lunar Reconnaissance Noah Petro reported. The moon pulls on Earth’s oceans and crust. The supermoon allows for the naked eye to spot craters in the moon without a telescope. It reached perigee at 8:52 AM EST on November 14.

The supermoon appeared 14% bigger and 30% brighter in the sky. Meagan Flynn ‘19 said, “The supermoon was really pretty! The moon was red with the sunset in the background. It didn’t look too different, but it was definitely a cool sight as it did seem bigger and brighter than usual.” This full moon is also known as the Beaver Moon and the full Frost moon.

I hope you caught a glance at this unique sight because the full moon won’t come this close to Earth again until November 25, 2034 when most of us are in our 30s. Just imagine what ground-breaking discoveries will take place by then.